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THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 


Uniform  with  this  Volume 


THE    TRANSVAAL 
FROM  WITHIN 

31  ^3i-iU;ite  lucorb  of  |Jublic  ^ffaivs 
By  J.   P.   FITZPATRICK 

EIGHTIETH    THOUSAND 


THE  RISE  AND   FALL  OF 
KRUGERISM 


H  ipcrsonal  1Rccol'^  of  jfort\?  l^ears  in  Soutb 
Htrica 


1!Y 


JOHN  ^OBLE 


Times'  Correstondent  in  PRtrciKiA  i'kiok  to  the  Present  Wak 
AND 

H.  R.  ABERCROMBIE 

Of  the  Intelligence  Department,  Cape  Colony 


NEW  YORK 
FREDERICK   A.    STOKES    COMPANY 

1 900 


Pkixtkd  IX  England 


'^lus  little  eBoiii  is  rcsjpcctfxxttu  ^leliicatcii 

TO   THE 

RIGHT    HON.   JOSEPH     CHAMBERLAIN 

Colonial  Scoxtary 
TO 

SIR   ALFRED   MILNER 

Governor  of  the  Cape  Colony  and  High  Co7nmissioner 
of  South  Africa 

AND    TO   THE 

RIGHT   HON.    CECIL   JOHN    RHODES 

Founder  of  Rhodesia 
THE    TRIUMVIRATE 

IN    WHOSE    HANDS    IS    PLACED   THE    EUTURE   OF 
THE    BRITISH    EMPIRE    IN    SOUTH    AI-RICA 

WITH   THE   FERVENT   HOPE   OF   ITS   OLDEST   ENGLISH   RESIDEN'i' 

THAT  THEY  MAY  SUCCESSFULLY  ACCOMPLISH  THEIR  TASK 

OF   ESTABLISHING    PEACE,    CONTENTMENT,    AND 

PROSPERITY   AMONG    ITS   VARIOUS 

NATIONALITIES 


CONTENTS 

CIIAITER  I'AGE 

PREFACE    ------  ix 

I.    AFRICANDER    AMBITIONS     -  -  -  -  i 

II.    PRE-ANNEXATION    DAYS        -  -  -  "  '5 

III.    THE    ANNEXATION    DISCUSSED  -  -  -  21 

IV.    THE    INTERREGNUM               -  -  -  "37 

V.    THE    WAR    OF    INDEPENDENCE  -  -  45 

VI.    THE    RETROCESSION                -  -  -  -  62 

VII.    THE    COMING    OF    KRUGER  -  -  "72 

VIII.    BOERS,    CAPITALISTS,    AND    CHARTEREDS      -  -  94 

IX.    THE   APPEAL   TO    C/ESAR      -  -  -  -  114 

X.  Cesar's  feet  of  clay    -  -  -  -  140 

XI.    a    KHODESIAN    SUBSTITUTE    FOR  FEET    OF    CLAY      -  1 62 

XII.    THE    PLOT    THICKENS              -  -  -  "177 

XIII.    THE    FALSE    STEP     -                  -  -  -  -  I  90 

XIV.    THE    RECKONING    -                   -  -  -  -  20I 

XV.    KRUGERIAN    METHODS          -  -  -  -  -^3 

XVI.    PREPAR-\TIONS    FOR    WAR  -  -  -  -  229 

XVII.    THE    END    OF    KRUGERISM  -  -  247 


viii  CONTENTS 

I'AGE 

Appendices  : 

a.  the  annexation  -  -  -  -256 

b.  proofs  of  slavery  ...  -     266 

c.  extracts  from  mr.  lionel  phillips'  letters  to 

messrs.  beit  and  wernher,  as  produced  at 
the  select  and  south  african  committees      272 

D.  GERMAN    emperor's    BIRTHD.AY    CELEBRATIONS   AT 

PRETORIA  -  -  -  -  -  275 

E.  SELECT    COMMITTEE    ON    BRITISH    SOUTH    AFRICA      -  279 

F.  THE    AFRICANDER    BOND        -  -  .  -  282 

G.  EXTRACTS     FROM    THE     BIOGRAPHY    OF    THE     LATE 

SIR    BARTLE    FRERE,    BY    JOHN    MARTINEAU  -  286 

H.    CHIEF   JUSTICE    KOTZE'S    REPLY   TO    MR.    KRUGER'S 

ASSERTIONS  -  -  -  -  -  29 1 

I.    THE   JUDICIAL    CRISIS    IN    THE    TRANSVAAL  -  -  295 

J.    EXTRACT    FROM    THE    '  TRANSVAAL   ADVERTISER  '   OF 

DECEMBER    31,    1 898         -  -  -  .  30O 

K.    SIR  BARTLE  FRERE  AND  THE  NOMINEE  LEGISLATURE 

OF    THE    TRANSVAAL  -  -  -  "301 

L.    DEVASTATED    NATAL  -  .  .  -  -502 


PREFACE 

The  present  volume  has  710  other  pretension  than  to  be  the 
record  of  the  political  evolution  of  South  Africa  from  the 
beginning  of  Mr.  Kruger's  active  part  in  Transvaal  politics 
to  the  present  day,  as  seen  from  the  point  of  vieic  of  those 
British  residents  who  have  watched  tJie  floic  and  ebb  of 
Krugerism  run-  symmetrically  with  the  ebb  and  flow  of 
British  Imperialism.  Their  story  begins  before  the  dis- 
covery of  gold,  and  will  outlive  it.  They  are  the  pioneers, 
the  mainstay  of  Empire,  and  as  such  they  claim  to  be  heard 
by  their  countrymen  at  home  independently  of  any  tem- 
porary consideration  accorded  to  those  who  for  tJic  time 
have  riveted  on  the  Transvaal  the  greedy  desire  of  the 
world,  and  have  helped — sometimes  accidentally,  sometimes 
patriotically  —  in  the  struggle  for  a  free  British  South 
Africa.  We  say  helped  only,  because  without  the  Loyalist 
settlers  the  Johannesburg  Uitlanders  would  not  have  fought, 
and  could  not  have  won. 


THE 

RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

CHAPTER  I 

AFRICANDER    AMBITIONS 

*  Africa  for  the  Africanders '  is  the  watchword  of  the 
Dutch  RepubHcan  party  in  South  Africa,  and  it  is  per- 
haps desirable  to  investigate  what  is  meant  by  the  term 
'  Africander '  in  order  more  correctly  to  appreciate  its 
object,  ambition,  and  moving  spirit.  In  order  to  do 
so  it  is  necessary  to  dwell  very  briefly  on  the  history 
of  Cape  Colony,  and  the  characteristics  of  its  original 
settlers. 

It  is  well  known  that  in  1486-87  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope  was  doubled  by  the  Portuguese  navigator 
Bartolommeo  Dias,  who  gave  it  the  name  of  Cabo 
Tormentoso.  His  discovery  was  veriiied  by  Vasco 
da  Gama  in  the  following  year  ;  but  it  does  not  appear 
that  the  Portuguese  made  any  attempt  to  effect  a 
permanent  settlement,  using  it  simply  as  a  port  of  call 
for  passing  vessels. 

In  1620  the  Cape  was  visited  by  two  Englishmen, 
Captain  Andrew  Shillinge  and  Captain  Humphrey  Fitz- 
herbert,  who  took  formal  possession  of  the  Cape 
Peninsula  in  the  name  of  James  I.  of  England.  Their 
action  was,  however,  not  confirmed  by  that  monarch, 

I 


2  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

who  failed  to  realize  the  importance  of  the  proposed 
addition  to  his  dominion. 

In  1648  a  Dutch  merchantman  was  wrecked  in  Table 
Bay,  and  the  crew  on  reaching  their  homes  sang  the 
praises  of  its  climate,  the  fruitfulness  of  its  soil,  and  its 
general  advantages  as  a  settlement.  These  reports 
induced  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  to  take 
measures  for  the  appropriation  of  the  Cape  Peninsula, 
and  an  expedition  was  sent  out  for  the  purpose  under 
J.  A.  van  Riebeck.  In  April,  1652,  he  anchored  in 
Table  Bay,  and  formally  took  possession  of  the  Peninsula 
on  behalf  of  the  company. 

The  men  who  accompanied  Riebeck,  consisting 
chiefly  of  soldiers  and  sailors,  formed  the  nucleus  of 
the  first  Dutch  colony  in  Africa,  and  are  consequently 
the  progenitors  of  the  mixed  race  which  now  claim  to 
be  styled  '  Africanders.' 

These  original  Dutch  settlers  had  their  numbers 
augmented  from  time  to  time  by  men  of  other  Euro- 
pean nationalities,  viz.,  Germans,  Danes,  Portuguese, 
and  Flemish,  all  of  whom  were  welcomed  as  giving 
additional  strength  to  the  settlement,  and  enabling  it 
to  cope  more  effectually  with  the  native  tribes  by  which 
it  was  surrounded,  and  with  which  frequent  difficulties 
arose  out  of  the  thievish  propensities  of  the  aborigines. 

In  1670  some  ninety  men  released  from  their  con- 
tract with  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  were  per- 
mitted to  occupy  lands  on  the  Riebeck  River,  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  present  suburb  of  Rondebosch,  but  with 
restrictions  which  later  on  were  found  to  be  intolerably 
irksome. 

In  the  years  i688-8g  some  300  men,  women,  and 
children,  who  had  fled  from  France  to  Holland  upon  the 
revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  came  to  the  Cape, 
and  were  well  received  by  the  Dutch  already  settled 
in  South  Africa. 


AFRICANDER  AMBITIONS  3 

Soon  after  this  increase  in  the  number  of  independent 
settlers  disputes  arose  between  them  and  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company,  which  claimed  a  practical 
monopoly  of  trade,  and  treated  its  private  subjects 
arbitrarily  and  with  harshness. 

As  soon,  therefore,  as  the  number  of  settlers  had 
become  sufficiently  large  and  important  to  influence 
public  opinion,  remonstrance  after  remonstrance  was 
forwarded  to  the  directors  of  the  company  in  Holland, 
and  it  would  appear  that  the  French  immigrants  were 
in  the  forefront  in  demanding  liberty  of  speech  and 
trade.  A  deputation  being  sent  to  Governor  van  der 
Stell  to  remonstrate  met  with  the  curt  reply  that  '  they 
must  restrain  their  French  impertinences,'  and  no  re- 
dress was  forthcoming.  The  men,  however,  who  had 
sacrificed  so  much  for  the  sake  of  their  religious 
principles,  and  among  whom  were  some  of  the  best 
blood  of  France,  were  not  likely  to  put  up  with  tyranny 
or  official  insolence  in  the  new  land  to  which  they 
had  resorted  to  escape  persecution  in  the  old.  Con- 
sequently a  secret  petition  was  sent  to  the  directors, 
signed  by  the  majority  of  the  burghers,  the  result  of 
which  was  that  Governor  van  der  Stell  was  relieved 
of  his  duties. 

In  1714  the  population  had  increased  to  over  2,100 
souls,  and  families  began  to  remove  farther  and 
farther  away  from  the  seat  of  Government  on  the  spot 
of  the  present  Cape  Town.  Thus  commenced  the 
nomad  life,  and  that  hunger  for  land  and  property 
which  has  been  a  distinguishing  characteristic  of  the 
Dutch  Boer  down  to  the  present  day. 

It  is  from  these  people,  who  in  their  own  country, 
whether  in  Holland  or  France,  were  ready  to  lay  down 
their  lives,  and  forfeit  their  property,  for  the  sake  of 
civil  and  religious  rights  and  liberties,  that  the  present 
race  of  republican  burghers  has  descended. 

I — 2 


4  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  persons  who  insist 
upon  the  fullest  liberty  for  themselves  to  be  very  much 
indisposed  to  grant  the  like  freedom  to  others,  and  the 
hybrid  Dutch  race  which  constitutes  a  large  proportion 
of  the  population  in  South  Africa  furnishes  an  illustra- 
tion of  this  paradox. 

The  Nederlanders  fought  long  years  for  freedom  from 
the  yoke  of  Spain,  and  the  French  Huguenots,  rather  than 
bow  to  what  appeared  to  them  the  idolatrous  practices 
of  the  Roman  Church,  quitted  country,  possessions, 
and  even  elevated  social  positions,  for  the  sake  of  their 
religious  convictions.  Yet  history  has  shown  these 
very  men  as  intolerant  in  spirit  as  were  those  from 
whose  oppression  they  had  made  the  heaviest  sacrifices 
to  escape,  enduring  incalculable  hardships,  miseries, 
and  dangers  with  cheerfulness  and  fortitude. 

No  sooner  had  the  Dutch  settlers  in  the  Cape  found 
the  opportunity  than  they  began  to  oppress  the  French 
immigrants,  discouraging  the  use  of  their  language  so 
successfully  that  at  the  present  day  but  few,  if  any,  of 
their  descendants  are  able  to  speak  the  language  of 
their  French  ancestors. 

By  intermarriage  with  the  Dutch  the  consolidation 
of  the  two  strains  was  effected,  although  the  burghers 
of  the  Transvaal  and  Free  State,  with  their  strong  and 
stolid  Teutonic  qualities,  have  retained  but  few  of  the 
more  vivacious  and  brilliant  characteristics  of  the  Latins. 

The  Boer  of  the  present  day,  in  his  almost  general 
ignorance,  has  a  fairly  good  opinion  of  his  personal 
value,  convinced  that  what  he  does  not  know  is  not 
worth  knowing.  The  management  of  a  span  of 
bullocks  and  the  government  of  the  country  are,  he 
thinks,  equally  within  his  powers,  and,  his  ambition 
once  having  been  stimulated,  he  has  arrived  at  the  con- 
clusion that  he  and  his  people  are  the  only  legitimate 
rulers  of  the  Austral  subcontinent. 


AFRICANDER  AMBITIONS  5 

It  may  be  admitted  that  the  acute  development  of 
this  idea  is  of  comparatively  recent  growth.  Prior  to 
the  discovery  of  the  gold-fields  in  the  Transvaal,  the 
Boers  had  no  means  of  carrying  into  effect  the  great 
idea  of  founding  a  new  nation ;  but  the  germ  has 
always  existed  from  the  time  that  the  Cape  Colony 
became  a  Dutch  possession. 

The  emancipation  of  the  slaves  held  by  the  burghers 
in  accordance  with  the  law  passed  by  the  English 
Parliament,  coupled  with  the  very  bad  arrangements 
made  for  the  payment  of  compensation  to  slave- 
holders, was  the  primary  cause  of  the  revolt  against 
the  authority  of  the  British  Government  as  shown  by 
the  Great  Trek  of  dissatisfied  Boers  to  the  north  and 
east  of  the  Cape  Colony.  It  is  not  necessary  at  this 
moment  to  enter  into  minute  details  with  regard  to 
their  movements,  but  it  is  unquestionable  that  that  dis- 
content laid  the  foundation  both  of  the  Free  State  and 
Transvaal  Republics,  whence  all  our  trouble  during 
these  latter  years  has  sprung. 

The  original  voortrekkers  from  the  Cape  carried  with 
them  a  deep  impression  that  they  had  been  treated 
with  injustice  by  the  Government,  and  that  conviction 
may  be  regarded  as  the  basis  of  the  hostility  of  the 
Republics  towards  Great  Britain  and  her  sons,  and  the 
disaffection  of  a  considerable  number  of  Her  Majesty's 
subjects  in  the  Cape  Colony. 

With  the  discovery  of  the  extraordinary  richness  of 
the  Transvaal  gold-fields  came  the  opportunity  of  pay- 
ing off  old  scores,  and  President  Kruger  has  not  ceased 
since  his  election  to  the  Presidency  of  the  Republic  to 
mould  his  people  to  his  views,  as  well  as  to  adopt 
stringent  measures  for  the  purpose  of  ultimately  dis- 
gusting the  Uitlander  population  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  induce  them  to  quit  the  country,  where  their  con- 
tinued presence  was  not  desired. 


6  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

The  enormous  interests  which  have  been  created 
during  the  past  decade  have,  however,  rendered  it 
impossible  for  the  new  population,  who  have  founded 
cities,  and  have  raised  the  Transvaal  from  a  position  of 
absolute  bankruptcy  to  a  wealthy  and  prosperous  State, 
to  vacate  their  position  and  abandon  the  results  of  their 
arduous  labours  and  vast  expenditure  of  capital. 

Remonstrance  was  tried,  and  proved  futile,  whilst  the 
Boer  Government  effectually  prevented  an  appeal  to 
force  from  within,  partl3^b3^  arming  the  Dutch  burghers 
and  deprivmg  men  of  other  nationalities  of  the  right  to 
possess  arms,  and  partly  by  putting  public  meetings 
under  Government  control  so  as  to  prevent  the  expres- 
sion of  popular  sentiment  among  the  unenfranchised 
residents  in  the  country  —  despite  their  numerical 
majority,  their  wealth,  energy,  intelligence,  and  the 
services  they  had  rendered  to  the  State  and  people. 

The  old  intolerance  imbued  in  the  Dutch-French 
Boer  of  200  years  ago  was  then  made  manifest  by  the 
denial  of  the  ordinary  rights  of  citizenship  to  those 
who  in  the  space  of  ten  years  had  developed  the 
country  to  a  greater  extent  than  the  Boers  themselves 
could  have  done  in  a  century. 

And  the  wealth  obtained  from  the  gold-fields  provided 
the  means  which  it  was  hoped  would  enable  the  Dutch 
population  of  South  Africa  to  drive  their  British  fellow- 
citizens  into  the  sea,  and  once  more  place  in  the 
hands  of  the  Dutch  the  ruling  power  from  Cape  Town 
to  the  Zambesi. 

The  founding  of  a  '  beautiful  young  Africander  nation  ' 
was  to  be  the  crowning  effort  of  the  Transvaal  and 
Orange  Free  State  in  wresting  the  government  of 
South  Africa  from  the  Imperial  Power.  As  a  means 
to  that  end,  both  Republics  armed  vigorously,  and  made 
the  most  elaborate  preparations  for  a  death  struggle 
with  Great  Britain. 


AFRICANDER  AMBITIONS  7 

The  idea  of  exchanging  British  rule  for  that  of  a 
Federal  Republic,  as  entertained  by  the  Dutch  in  South 
Africa,  has  undoubtedly  been  fostered  by  the  deplorable 
policy  of  the  British  Government  during  the  past  half- 
century,  for  there  has  been  no  settled  policy  at  home, 
and  vacillation  and  temporising  with  the  interests  of 
South  Africa  have  frequently  shaken  the  confidence 
in  the  home  Government  of  Cape  Colony  and  the 
adjacent  States. 

The  lack  of  a  definite  policy  has  been  fruitful  of 
many  dangers  and  burdens  to  the  British  nation,  but 
in  no  instance  has  the  risk  accompanying  it  been  more 
fully  illustrated  than  in  the  case  of  the  South  African 
colonies  and  States. 

It  is  not  our  purpose  to  hark  back  to  the  beginning 
of  the  century  for  examples  of  inconsistent  treatment ; 
it  will  be  necessary  only  to  refer  to  the  history  of  the 
two  South  African  Republics  to  prove  our  contention 
to  the  hih. 

When  the  Boers  emigrated  from  the  Cape  Colony 
they  took  possession  of,  and  occupied,  the  district 
north  of  the  Orange  River  and  Natal. 

The  portion  now  known  as  the  Orange  Free  State 
was  formerly  an  appendage  to  the  Cape  Colony,  and 
its  people  British  subjects.  After  a  time,  however,  it 
was  found  that  the  difficulties  with  the  natives  were  of 
such  frequent  occurrence,  and  caused  so  considerable 
an  expenditure,  as,  in  the  opinion  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, to  render  it  worthless,  and  it  was  consequently 
resolved  to  abandon  all  sovereign  rights  over  the  dis- 
trict, and  let  the  emigrant  farmers  do  their  best  to  turn 
the  country  to  account. 

Prior  to  this  mistake.  Sir  Harry  Smith,  then  Governor 
of  the  Cape  Colony,  had  found  it  necessary  to  march  a 
force  of  troops  into  the  Orange  River  Sovereignty  in 
order   to   quell   a  rebellion  which    had    arisen   against 


8  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

British  authority,  and  he  inflicted  a  severe  defeat  upon 
the  Boers  at  Boomplaats,  putting  a  price  upon  the 
heads  of  some  of  the  rebel  leaders. 

The  authority  of  the  British  Government  was  main- 
tained until  the  close  of  1853,  but  on  February  23, 
1854,  the  sovereignty  was  abandoned,  and  the  Orange 
Free  State  Republic  was  established,  in  spite  of  the 
protests  of  a  large  proportion  of  the  population,  who 
wished  to  remain  under  the  protection  of  Great  Britain. 

Subsequent  events  have  proved  this  conduct  to  have 
been  a  mistake  ;  but  some  allowance  must  be  made  for 
the  ignorance  of  the  English  Ministers  at  that  date, 
who  regarded  the  majority  of  the  Dutch  people  in  the 
South  African  colonies  as  nuisances,  to  be  got  rid  of  at 
the  first  opportunity,  and  at  any  cost  to  national  honour 
and  prestige. 

It  was  not  many  years  after  the  abandonment  by 
Great  Britain  of  all  the  rights  pertaining  to  the  British 
sovereignty  that  the  Free  State  burghers  became  in- 
volved in  serious  differences  with  the  Basuto  nation, 
relative  to  the  boundaries  of  their  country  and  the  Free 
State.  War  was  the  result,  and  the  Free  State  appealed 
to  Sir  George  Grey,  then  the  High  Commissioner,  to 
arbitrate  upon  the  respective  claims  of  the  parties. 
His  decision  was  in  favour  of  the  Free  State,  and 
was  for  a  time  submitted  to  by  the  Basutos.  Soon, 
however,  the  natives  commenced  stealing  cattle,  and 
made  themselves  intolerable  as  neighbours,  and  in 
1865  the  Free  State  took  up  arms,  and  war  in  a  desul- 
tory kind  of  way  was  carried  on  against  Moshesh  and 
his  people. 

After  great  sacrifices  in  men  and  money  the  burghers 
had  all  but  succeeded  in  crushing  the  Basuto  power, 
when,  without  warning,  the  British  Government  inter- 
vened on  their  behalf,  taking  over  the  nation  as  British 
subjects,  so  that  all  the  sacrifices  made  by  the  farmers 


AFRICANDER  AMBITIONS  9 

were  made  of  no  avail,  except  that  they  had  the  British 
guarantee  for  the  safety  of  their  borders. 

After  that  the  Free  State,  under  the  fostering  care 
of  the  late  Sir  John  Brand,  flourished  exceedingly, 
and  up  to  the  unfortunate  alliance  promoted  by 
President  Reitz,  and  carried  more  completely  into 
effect  by  President  Steyn,  the  career  of  the  Free  State 
was  marked  by  great  prosperity,  giving  offence  to  none 
of  the  surrounding  States. 

The  alliance  with  the  Transvaal  at  once  converted 
the  Free  State  burghers  into  active  enemies  of  Great 
Britain,  which  is  to-day,  with  the  blood  of  its  sons, 
paying  the  price  of  incompetent  advisers. 

The  country  was  originally  British  territory,  but 
the  short-sighted  and  parsimonious  policy  of  the  home 
administrators  relinquished  it,  so  that  all  the  blood  and 
treasure  that  had  been  expended  upon  the  establish- 
ment and  maintenance  of  British  authority  was  lost. 

Having  once  recognised  the  claims  of  the  Free  State 
with  regard  to  the  boundaries  fixed  by  Sir  George 
Grey,  the  British  Government  intervened  at  the  very 
moment  when  the  burghers  had  everything  in  their 
own  hands  for  the  subjugation  of  the  Basutos,  saving 
them  from  the  consequence  of  their  conduct  at  the 
expense  of  the  burghers. 

The  Free  State  felt  sore  about  this  interference,  and 
the  feeling  of  the  burghers  was  not  rendered  more 
cordial  when  the  diamond-fields  were  taken  from  them 
upon  very  weak  grounds.  It  is  not  therefore  a  matter 
for  surprise  that  a  people  who  tenaciously  remember 
injuries  and  slights  should  have  thought  it  possible  to 
*  pay  out '  Great  Britain  for  the  slights  of  the  past,  and 
the  meanness  which  has  characterized  the  policy  of  the 
Ministers  of  the  Queen  since  Her  Majesty's  sovereignty 
was  formally  relinquished. 

But  if  the  case  of  the  Free  Staters  was  bad,  the 


lo  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

system  adopted  by  the  British  Government  as  to  their 
own  subjects  in  the  Transvaal  was  far  worse.  Shiftiness 
and  expediency,  as  dictated  by  the  conflict  of  poHtical 
parties  at  home,  has  been  accompanied  in  the  latter 
instance  by  the  most  flagrant  betrayal  of  the  interests 
of  both  white  and  coloured  inhabitants  of  the  Transvaal 
by  the  wilful  breach  of  promises  made  by  the  highest 
representatives  of  the  British  Crown  and  in  the  name 
of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen. 

Mr.  Gladstone  on  taking  office  declared  above  his 
own  signature  that  '  he  could  not  advise  Her  Majesty 
to  cancel  the  annexation  in  consequence  of  the  new 
obligations  and  responsibilities  that  have  been  created 
by  that  act.'  Yet  within  a  brief  space  after  that  solemn 
declaration  he  concluded  a  peace  with  the  rebels  against 
Her  Majesty's  rule,  by  which  the  Transvaal  was  rele- 
gated to  Boer  authority,  and  the  '  obligations '  and 
'  responsibilities '  which  he  had  formerly  and  most 
properly  assigned  as  abundant  reasons  for  refraining 
from  destroying  the  work  of  his  predecessors  were 
thrown  to  the  winds. 

The  disgraceful  peace  concluded  under  the  shadow 
of  Amajuba  on  British  territory,  and  within  view  of  the 
graves  of  those  who  fell  in  defence  of  British  rights, 
will  prove  a  monument  of  dishonour  to  Mr.  Gladstone's 
memory  and  to  those  who  were  associated  with  him. 
That  act  of  national  humiliation  and  perfidy  has  proved 
the  fruitful  source  of  all  our  present  troubles. 

As  in  the  Free  State,  so  in  the  Transvaal,  was  the 
national  feeling  of  the  Boers  encouraged  by  the  weak- 
ness of  British  Ministers,  until  it  culminated  in  the 
present  war,  with  its  enormous  cost  in  life  and  limb 
and  gold. 

Possibly  the  annexation  of  the  Transvaal  in  1877  may 
be  considered  premature  even  by  those  who  approved 
generally  of  the  policy  which  led  to  it,  but  the  grand 


AFRICANDER  AMBITIONS  n 

mistake  was  in  not  holding  to  it  with  wise  tenacity  once 
the  repubhc  had  become  British  territory.  It  is  absurd 
to  say  that  the  majority  of  the  Boers  were  opposed  to  the 
annexation  by  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone,  or  that  the  peti- 
tion to  the  British  Government  was  not  on  the  whole  a 
bond-fide  document.  To  our  knowledge,  the  petition 
was  signed  by  a  considerable  number  of  Civil  Servants 
in  the  employ  of  the  Boer  Government  under  President 
Burgers,  and  it  is  a  fact  that  when  the  13th  Regiment 
was  marched  in  from  Natal  the  farmers'  wives  in 
numerous  cases  baked  bread  and  cooked  meat  for  the 
refreshment  of  the  troops  at  halting -places  in  the 
vicinity  of  occupied  farms.  It  was  only  when  the 
Boers  waxed  fat  upon  the  money  expended  for  the 
troops,  and  had  after  their  fashion  become  ungrateful  for 
their  deliverance  from  their  black  enemies,  that  the  ques- 
tion of  the  righteousness  of  the  annexation  was  mooted. 
It  maybe  taken  as  a  natural  sequence  of  the  vacillating 
policy  which  was  adopted  towards  the  Free  State  that 
the  agitators  among  the  Boers  of  the  Transvaal  should 
point  to  the  Free  State  as  a  sample  of  British  colonial 
policy.  It  was  reasonable  to  argue  that  if  the  burghers 
of  the  Transvaal  were  only  sufficiently  persistent  in 
their  demands  for  the  retrocession  of  their  country,  and 
backed  it  up  with  the  assertion  that  the  annexation  was 
obtained  by  unfair  and  unjust  means,  the  Transvaal 
would  once  more  become  a  sovereign  State,  and  every 
burgher  would  be  able  to  become  a  law  unto  himself. 
The  Free  State  had  become  so,  and  why  not  the  South 
African  Republic  ? 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  dwell  on  the  connection 
Paul  Kruger  had  with  the  secret  movement  to  oust  the 
British  from  the  Transvaal,  even  whilst  he  was  a 
member  of  the  Executive  under  the  British  regime 
and  receiving  pay  for  his  services  from  the  Imperial 
exchequer.    The  fact  is  quite  clear  that  he  was  the  secret 


12  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

chief  of  the  movement,  and  had  even  then  no  small 
share  in  stimulating^  the  more  ignorant  of  the  population 
to  throw  off  the  authority  of  Great  Britain  in  South 
Africa. 

It  will  be  easily  understood  that  the  descendants  of 
the  men  who  threw  off  the  intolerable  burdens  of  the 
Dutch  East  India  Company  and  the  progeny  of  the 
French  immigrants  who  revolted  from  the  cruel 
religious  intolerance  of  the  French  Government  would 
carry  the  germ  of  freedom  in  their  composition  wherever 
they  might  go.  The  same  reasons  which  induced 
them  to  rebel  against  control  in  their  native  land, 
drew  them  into  the  wilds  of  Africa,  and  there  having 
no  one  to  dictate  to  them,  they  attained  to  that 
perfect  freedom  from  all  restraint  for  which  they 
hungered.  After  some  years  of  wandering,  in  which 
they  were  fighting  for  their  lives  with  the  aborigines, 
the  Free  State  and  Transvaal  were  sufficiently  popu- 
lated to  become  centres  from  which  civilization  might 
be  extended  under  a  wise  and  beneficent  system  of 
government.  But  these  recalcitrant  British  subjects 
were  more  intent  upon  seizing  the  land  from  natives  and 
parcelling  it  out  among  themselves  than  upon  the  spread 
of  those  principles  on  which  alone  a  nationality  can  be 
founded  with  any  prospect  of  permanence.  Men  dwelt 
so  far  apart  that  there  was  but  little  intercourse  amongst 
them,  and  still  less  a  semblance  of  that  central  authority 
which  had  been  established  after  the  Convention  of 
Sand  River.  By  the  convention  the  autonomy  of  the 
Transvaal  was  recognised  by  the  British  Government, 
so  that  each  farmer  became  a  king  upon  his  own 
stretch  of  land.  The  ingrained  idea  of  personal  in- 
dependence was  thus  fostered,  until  it  grew  into  the 
monstrous  development  of  the  right  to  tyrannize  over 
those  who  were  not  of  the  favoured  Dutch-French 
origin  ;  and  slavery  and  its  concomitants  became  estab- 


AFRICANDER  AMBITIONS  13 

lished  as  against  the  natives,  whilst  other  nationalities 
were  looked  down  upon  by  even  the  most  ignorant 
Boers.  That  sentiment,  combined  with  the  experience 
of  the  methods  of  the  British  Government  half  a 
century  ago,  paved  the  way  to  the  present  condition 
of  affairs,  and  we  have  to  pay  the  price  of  recovering 
our  own,  once  weakly  surrendered,  in  order  to  keep  up 
the  prestige  of  our  Empire. 

The  Boers'  hereditary  confidence  in  themselves 
has  been  fed  and  fostered  by  the  vacillation  which 
has  characterized  the  treatment  of  South  Africa  by 
successive  British  Governments.  The  Boers  have  been 
confirmed  in  the  belief  that  they  have  only  to  ask 
long  and  loudly,  with  a  veiled  threat  of  serious  conse- 
quences, to  obtain  what  they  may  happen  to  desire. 
Shreds  of  Old  Testament  history  have  led  them  to 
consider  that  the  God  whom  they  profess  to  worship 
will  direct  their  bullets  so  as  to  bring  about  a  victory 
to  their  arms.  President  Kruger's  recent  exhortations 
to  the  commandoes  in  the  field  to  trust  to  God  rather 
than  to  markmanship,  as  He  would  direct  their  bullets 
so  as  to  secure  the  defeat  of  their  enemies,  is  a  tolerably 
clear  proof  that  they  consider  themselves  the  chosen 
people  among  the  moderns,  and,  like  the  Hebrews  of 
old,  under  the  protection  of  the  Most  High. 

An  element  not  to  be  disregarded  in  this  connection 
is  the  resentment  felt  towards  Great  Britain  for  her  in- 
terference in  the  domestic  institution  of  slavery.  That 
feeling  remains  unchanged  to  the  present  day,  and  it 
is  an  unquestionable  fact  that  Boers  in  the  Transvaal, 
and  possibly  also  in  the  Free  State,  have  established  a 
system  scarcely  to  be  distinguished  from  slavery  and 
slave-trading,  as  it  existed  before  August  i,  1834  (see 
Appendix  B).  The  Boer's  dislike  to  paying  taxes 
is  a  feature  which  is  not  confined  to  him,  who,  how- 
ever, may  be  considered  to  occupy  a  unique  position 


14  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

as  a  taxer  of  the  population  which  he  does  not  recognise 
as  being  of  his  own  household. 

The  Dutch  Boer,  as  he  is,  will  at  all  times  be  difficult 
to  manage,  more  especially  as  he  considers  all  concilia- 
tion and  kindness  to  be  an  infallible  sign  of  weakness 
and  fear.  A  Boer  would  understand  and  respect  German 
methods,  but  he  has  nothing  but  contempt  for  a  Govern- 
ment which  has  a  tender  regard  for  the  prejudices  and 
susceptibilities  of  its  subjects. 


CHAPTER  II 

PRE-ANXEXATION    DAYS 

The  writer  made  acquaintance  with  the  Transvaal 
about  the  middle  of  1873,  when  he  joined  the  band 
of  gold -seekers  upon  the  then  recently  discovered 
alluvial  deposits  of  the  precious  metal  in  the  Lydenburg 
district.  These  deposits  were  discovered  and  brought 
into  prominent  notice  by  Messrs.  Thomas  MacLachlan, 
McLeod,  and  Macdonald,  on  the  farm  Geelhoutboom, 
whence  the  name  of  those  goldfields,  Mac-a-Mac,  is 
derived.  Although  large  nuggets  were  not  plentiful, 
the  creeks  and  watercourses  yielded  a  sufficient  return 
to  attract  some  hundreds  of  men  to  the  place,  and  to 
justify  President  Burgers  in  his  attempt  to  establish 
an  orderly  system  of  administration  in  place  of 
the  rough-and-ready  rules  which  the  diggers  had 
framed. 

It  was,  as  far  as  we  can  recollect,  in  the  month  of 
November,  1873,  that  President  Burgers  made  his 
official  visit  to  Mac-a-Mac,  and  his  advent  was  welcomed 
by  the  diggers  with  enthusiasm.  A  project  was  set  on 
foot  to  entertain  him  at  a  public  banquet,  and  subscrip- 
tions were  readily  forthcoming  for  that  purpose.  At 
that  time,  of  course,  there  were  not  many  local  facilities 
for  such  a  function,  but  that  difficulty  was  overcome  by 
the  appointment  of  a  caterer  resident  in  Lydenburg, 


i6  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

who  with  great  enterprise  managed  to  convey  over  the 
apologies  for  roads  all  the  requirements  for  a  banquet 
for  about  250  hungry  miners.  Everything  had  to  be 
brought — plate,  linen,  and  china  as  well  as  food  and 
drink — a  distance  of  thirty-six  miles,  over  hill  and  dale, 
through  rivers  and  vleis,  through  bush  and  briar,  at  a 
time  when  the  word  'road'  was  a  misnomer.  It  was, 
however,  accomplished  in  due  time,  and  for  a  sum 
which  in  those  days  must  be  regarded  as  moderate  in 
the  extreme.  The  present  writer  had  the  honour  to 
preside  at  the  banquet,  and  can  bear  testimony  to  the 
cordiality  of  the  feeling  which  prevailed  both  towards 
the  Government  and  the  people  of  the  Transvaal  at 
that  time. 

President  Burgers  made  himself  very  popular,  and 
his  speeches  and  official  actions  gave  great  satisfaction 
to  the  community  upon  the  newly-found  gold-fields. 
He  appointed,  at  the  request  of  the  majority  of  the 
diggers,  Mr.  Macdonald  as  Gold  Commissioner,  and 
invested  him  with  certain  powers  necessary  for  the  good 
ordering  of  the  fields.  That  gentleman,  being  an  old 
experienced  American  gold-digger,  used  to  the  rough- 
and-ready  j  ustice  adapted  to  the  needs  of  a  heterogeneous 
community,  and  not  caring  to  be  trammelled  by  the 
niceties  of  statute  law,  did  very  well  for  the  time,  and 
was  popular  with  the  men  over  whom  he  had  been 
placed. 

The  President  christened  the  district  where  gold  had 
been  found  in  payable  quantities  '  New  Caledonia,'  in 
compliment  to  the  number  of  Scotchmen  who  had 
flocked  thither,  and  at  a  farewell  picnic  given  to  him, 
and  the  visitors  who  came  in  his  train,  produced  two 
nuggets — the  Emma  and  Adeline,  as  they  were  named 
after  the  daughters  of  the  President — to  the  great 
astonishment  of  the  diggers,  who  were  not  at  all 
aware   of  their   having   been    found.      These    nuggets 


PRE-ANNEXATION  DAYS  17 

were  afterwards  coined  into  about  ;^8oo  '  Burgers' 
sovereigns,'  and  were  sold  to  the  public  at  30s.  each, 
as  being  the  first  coined  produce  of  the  Transvaal 
gold  industry. 

Shortly  after  these  festivities  and  the  return  of  the 
President  to  Pretoria,  some  sensational  discoveries  were 
made  at  Pilgrims'  Rest,  about  seven  miles  distant  from 
Mac-a-Mac,  and  a  large  number  of  the  diggers  left  the 
earlier  diggings  for  the  richer  prospects  at  that  place. 
The  population  speedily  grew  to  over  a  thousand ; 
ladies  began  to  make  their  appearance,  and  the  camp 
rapidly  assumed  a  brighter  aspect.  Before  many 
months  were  over,  balls  and  concerts  became  frequent 
accessories  to  camp  life,  and  social  functions  were 
carried  out  with  great  propriety.  Pilgrims'  Rest  pro- 
duced large  quantities  of  heavy  gold  —  the  nuggets 
ranging  from  i  ounce  to  150  ounces  in  weight,  and  in 
one  case  13  pounds  weight  of  gold  was  taken  out  of  a 
'  pot-hole '  in  four  solid  lumps,  which  were  afterwards 
exhibited  in  the  Cape  Colony  by  the  lucky  dis- 
coverer. 

With  increasing  wealth  and  the  prospect  of  some 
stability  came  the  desire  of  the  diggers  to  be  repre- 
sented in  the  Legislature  (Volksraad),  and  President 
Burgers  supported  the  appeal,  with  the  result  that  the 
Raad  sanctioned  the  making  of  New  Caledonia  into 
an  electoral  district,  privileged  to  send  two  members 
to  Pretoria,  to  represent  the  digging  communities  at 
Pilgrims'  Rest,  Mac-a-Mac,  and  Spitzkop.  Messrs. 
Macaulay  and  Cameron  were  elected,  and  went  to 
Pretoria,  where  they  took  part  in  senatorial  duties 
without  exciting  jealousy  or  suspicion  on  the  part  of 
their  colleagues  or  the  Dutch  people.  This  fact  has 
not  been  brought  to  public  notice  as  prominently  as  it 
should  have  been  as  a  precedent  for  the  extension  of 
the  franchise  to  the  large  Uitlandcr  population  which 

2 


i8  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

has  gathered  since  the  discovery  of  gold  at  the  Kaap 
and  on  the  Witwatersrand  fields. 

So  far  as  the  writer  is  aware,  there  has  been  no  repeal 
of  the  special  law  creating  New  Caledonia  an  electoral 
district  ;  but  that  is  not  of  much  consequence  now,  as 
the  great  majority  of  the  men  who  were  invested  with 
full  citizenship  have  been  dispersed  by  the  closing  of 
the  fields  to  the  alluvial  diggers  and  by  the  action  of  the 
Kruger  Government  in  granting  concessions  for  gold- 
mining  in  those  parts  of  the  country  where  the  enter- 
prise and  industry  of  the  first-comers  had  proved  their 
value.  The  Transvaal  Government  by  this  policy  threw 
itself  completely  into  the  power  of  the  men  who  possessed 
capital,  whilst  those  who  had  nothing  but  brain  and 
muscle  were  completely  excluded  from  all  chance  of 
bettering  themselves  by  the  pursuit  of  the  fascinating 
industry  of  gold-digging. 

Shortly  after  President  Kruger  came  into  office  the 
policy  of  granting  concessions  was  adopted.  The  first 
of  these,  we  believe,  was  the  grant  of  exclusive  rights 
of  mining  upon  portions  of  three  farms,  which  had 
formed  the  Pilgrims'  Rest  diggings.  This  concession 
was  made  the  basis  of  a  company  known  as  the  Gold 
Exploration  Company,  and  the  miners  were  driven 
from  the  property  thus  obtained.  It  must  be  said, 
however,  in  justice  to  the  concessionaire,  Mr.  D.  H. 
Benjamin,  that  he  paid  upwards  of  ^60,000  in  com- 
pensation to  the  evicted  diggers,  the  amount  to  which 
they  were  severally  entitled  being  ascertained  and  fixed 
by  Commissioners  appointed  by  the  Government.  Still, 
the  system  was  faulty,  and  has  been  productive  of  evil 
consequences  to  the  State  ever  since. 

To  return  to  the  political  position  during  the  later 
part  of  President  Burgers'  official  existence.  The  great 
difficulty  which  that  gentleman  had  to  contend  with 
was  the  general  poverty  of  the  country.     Taxes  could 


PRE-ANNEXATION  DAYS  19 

not  be  collected  for  the  purpose  of  carrying  on  the 
government,  and  there  was  not  yet  a  sufficient  number 
of  people  on  the  gold-fields  to  take  the  burden  of  sup- 
porting the  administration  of  the  whole  country  upon 
their  shoulders.  In  no  district  of  the  country  were  the 
fiscal  imposts  more  readily  paid  than  on  the  gold-fields, 
but  the  art  of  fleecing  had  not  at  that  time  been 
developed  to  the  perfection  to  which  it  has  since  at- 
tained. The  result  was  that  the  President  found  himself 
hampered  both  financially  and  morally  by  the  defection 
of  the  people,  who  did  not  appreciate  his  patriotic 
policy  and  his  attempt  to  raise  their  status  as  an  inde- 
pendent nation,  and  his  position  became  one  of  almost 
insuperable  difficulty. 

Unfortunately,  while  the  Treasury  was  almost  empty 
the  trouble  of  a  war  with  the  native  chiefs,  Johannes 
and  Secocoeni,  supervened,  and  the  burghers  were 
called  out  to  restore  obedience.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
say  more  upon  this  point  than  that  the  burghers,  after 
a  short  campaign,  refused  to  remain  longer  in  the  field, 
and  '  Huis  toe '  (Home  we  go)  was  a  reply  to  the  ardent 
exhortations  of  the  poor  President,  who  begged  them 
with  tears  not  to  give  up  the  struggle  with  Secocoeni 
before  his  subjugation  had  been  effected.  The  burghers 
returned  to  their  homes,  and  the  President,  depressed 
beyond  measure  at  the  financial  and  political  condition 
of  the  country,  went  back  to  Pretoria.  The  necessary 
sequence  to  this  was  the  desire  for  annexation  of  the 
Transvaal  by  Great  Britain. 

We  may  here  in  passing  contrast  Mr.  Kruger  with  his 
impulsive  predecessor,  Thomas  Fran9ois  Burgers,  whose 
great  and  fatal  mistake  it  was  to  endeavour  to  force  the 
people  into  genuine  progress  and  a  proper  appreciation 
of  the  demands  made  by  civilization  before  they  became 
fitted  for  self-government  !  Mr.  Burgers  was  twenty 
years  in  advance  of  his  time,  but  all  those  who  knew 

2 — 2 


20  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

him  will  continue  to  hold  a  high  opinion  of  his  character, 
the  purity  of  his  motives,  and,  from  his  point  of  view, 
the  height  of  his  ideals.  There  was  only  one  blot  in 
his  character,  and  that  was  his  distrust  of  England  and 
Englishmen,  Individually  he  was  ready  to  admit  their 
possession  of  good  qualities  :  but  in  judging  them  as  a 
nation  his  view  was  obscured  by  racial  prejudice. 


CHAPTER   III 

THE   ANNEXATION    DISCUSSED 

The  alleged  causes  of  the  war  of  independence  were  the 
failure  to  keep  the  promise  of  according  popular  repre- 
sentation made  by  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone  in  the 
annexation  proclamation,  and  the  military  style  of 
government  adopted  by  his  successor,  Sir  O.  Lanyon. 
No  doubt  there  is  some  truth  in  these  allegations, 
which  offered  sufficient  grounds  for  the  agitation  set  on 
foot  by  certain  malcontents,  of  whom  Mr.  Kruger  and 
Dr.  Jorrisen  were  the  chief.  It  may,  however,  be  safely 
asserted  that  the  immediate  causes  for  the  turning  of 
popular  opinion  against  British  rule  were  the  parsimony 
of  the  authorities  in  Downing  Street,  and  the  short- 
sightedness of  their  treatment  of  the  two  most  im- 
portant persons  concerned  in  the  matter. 

The  ability  and  influence  of  Mr,  Paul  Kruger  were  to 
a  certain  extent  recognised  as  valuable,  and  a  position 
was  given  to  him  upon  the  Executive,  of  which  Sir 
Theophilus  Shepstone  was  the  chief.  But  Mr.  Kruger's 
estimate  of  his  value  was  higher  than  that  accorded  to 
him  by  the  Administrator,  and  it  was  not  long  before 
he  became  discontented  with  the  amount  of  his  hono- 
rarium (;^300  per  annum),  and  he  made  it  known  that 
he  would  not  continue  to  give  his  services  longer  for 
such  a  pittance.  By  a  misrepresentation  of  facts  he 
was  enabled  to   add  another  hundred  to  his   income. 


22  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

and  that  addition  was  subjected  to  an  inquiry  by  the 
Home  Government,  the  Colonial  Secretary  (Mr.  Osborn) 
being  called  upon  to  make  it  good.  This  naturally  led 
to  a  somewhat  warm  correspondence  with  Mr.  Kruger, 
who,  however,  could  not  be  induced  to  disgorge. 
From  the  time  that  he  resigned  his  seat  upon  the 
Executive  he  became  an  avowed  enemy  of  the  new 
regime,  and  used  his  influence  amongst  his  fellow- 
countrymen  to  promote  discontent  and  bring  the 
Government  into  odium.  At  that  time  the  aspect  of 
affairs  in  the  Transvaal  was  by  no  means  so  bright  as 
it  became  a  few  years  later,  and  it  is  sad  to  think  that 
if  the  British  authorities  had  recognised  the  value  of 
Mr.  Kruger's  services,  and  had  treated  him  with 
liberality,  the  present  costly  war  might  very  probably 
have  been  unnecessary,  while  the  shock  to  British 
honour  and  prestige  which  attended  the  retrocession  of 
the  country  would  have  been  avoided. 

The  other  person  of  influence  possessing  a  subtle 
brain,  and  although  a  Doctor  of  Divinity,  not  very 
scrupulous  as  to  what  use  he  put  it,  was  Dr.  Jorissen. 
He  was  one  of  the  importations  from  Holland  by  Mr. 
Burgers,  and  joined  with  Mr.  Kruger  in  bringing  about 
an  acute  condition  of  discontent  amongst  the  people. 
He,  too,  had  a  grievance  against  the  British  authorities 
in  that  he  was  removed  from  his  office  as  State 
Attorney  on  the  ground  of  incompetence.  An  offer  was 
then  made  to  him  of  the  position  of  Landdrost  of 
Pretoria,  but  the  step  from  almost  irresponsible  exercise 
of  power  to  that  of  a  stipendiary  magistrate  at  £600 
per  annum  was  too  great  a  degradation  to  be  sub- 
mitted to,  and  the  position  was  refused  by  him.  The 
prospect  of  becoming  a  leader  in  the  rebellion  against 
British  rule  in  conjunction  with  Paul  Kruger  appealed 
to  his  vanity,  and  he  became  an  active  advocate  of  anti- 
British  propaganda.     He,  too,  might  have  been  molli- 


THE  ANNEXATION  DISCUSSED  23 

fied  by  a  little  regard  for  his  amour  propre,  but  his 
refusal  of  the  position  of  Landdrost  was  considered 
final,  and  he  threw  in  his  lot  with  the  other  side. 

These  two  men,  each  possessing  influence,  the  one 
with  the  mass  of  the  ignorant  Boer  population  and  the 
other  on  account  of  his  intellectual  power  with  the  more 
cultured  section  of  the  burghers,  were  let  loose  upon  the 
nation.  Neither  was  scrupulous  as  to  the  character  and 
quality  of  his  arguments.  Paul  Kruger  appealed  to  the 
religious  sentiment,  and  urged  upon  the  attention  of  his 
compatriots  the  godless  character  of  the  administra- 
tion, preaching  the  doctrine  that  the  Boers  were  God's 
chosen  people,  and  that  the  favour  of  the  Almighty 
would  be  on  their  side  in  any  struggle  with  the  new 
Government.  He  impressed  upon  his  credulous  people 
that  the  English  were  nowhere  mentioned  in  the  Bible, 
and  but  few  of  his  hearers  thought  fit  to  question  him 
as  to  where  the  mention  of  the  Boers  as  men  after 
God's  own  heart  would  be  found.  His  frequent 
appearance  in  the  pulpit  gave  him  a  sacrosanct  in- 
fluence with  his  hearers,  and  added  not  a  little  to 
his  power.  He  used  his  reputation  for  special 
holiness  precisely  as  the  Mahdi  did  when  he  contem- 
plated the  conquest  of  the  Soudan,  and  eventually 
wrested  it  from  the  enfeebled  hands  of  the  Egyptian 
Government.  It  is  to  be  borne  in  mind  that  there  was 
at  that  time  no  counteracting  influence  in  the  shape  of 
a  public  press  to  give  the  other  side  of  the  questions 
affecting  the  interests  of  the  people.  But  few  amongst 
the  farming  class  read  anything  except  the  Bible,  and 
were  therefore  open  to  the  arguments  backed  up  by 
texts  which  Paul  Kruger  was  in  the  habit  of  applying 
to  their  condition  as  a  chosen  people.  The  majority 
of  those  who  were  sufficiently  educated  to  read  a  news- 
paper relied  upon  the  Volkssieui  for  their  political  infor- 
mation.      In    its    columns   a   much    purer   system    of 


24  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

republicanism  was  taught  by  the  late  Jan  Celliers 
than  has  obtained  of  late  under  the  management  of 
Dr.  Engelenburg,  a  Hollander  who  has  kindled  racial 
antipathies  by  the  rabid  style  of  his  writing.  The 
Volksstem  nowadays  is  a  newspaper  subsidized  by  the 
Government,  and  reflects  with  much  accuracy  the 
opinions  and  policy  of  its  patrons.  In  the  early 
days  the  late  Mr.  F,  Jeppe  established  a  paper  called 
De  Oude  Emigrant  in  Potchefstroom,  which  was  so 
fearless  a  critic  as  to  bring  down  upon  it  the  wrath 
of  the  Government,  and  it  was  speedily  suppressed  by 
an  order  from  the  Volksraad,  with  especial  vigour, 
because  it  was  published  in  Dutch.  It  was  followed 
by  the  Potchefstroomer,  which  still  exists  as  a  sub- 
sidiary Government  organ,  following  the  lead  of  the 
Volksstem  in  Pretoria,  but  devoid  of  the  brilliance  and 
ability  of  that  paper.  The  fact  that  both  these  news- 
papers were  in  the  vernacular  brought  home  more 
readily  their  doctrines  to  the  people,  and  as  they  appealed 
to  the  national  aspiration  of  the  Boers  to  be  entirely 
independent  of  every  exterior  influence,  political, 
religious,  or  social,  and  there  being  nothing  to 
counteract  that  tendency,  the  idea  of  creating  a  Dutch 
Republic  upon  such  principles  became  almost  a  religion 
with  them.  The  ministers  of  the  Dutch  Church  became 
prophets  sent  by  God  to  relieve  the  chosen  people  from 
a  bondage  which  they  were  taught  to  believe  was  in- 
tolerable and  burdensome. 

The  annexation  of  the  Transvaal,  although  effected 
without  any  display  of  force,  and  with  the  tacit  consent 
of  the  mass  of  the  people,  only  held  the  idea  in  check  for 
a  little  time,  just  so  long  as  the  country  remained  poor, 
so  that  neither  taxes  could  be  collected  nor  officials 
paid  their  salaries.  For  just  about  one  year  there  was 
a  cessation  of  the  agitation,  Paul  Kruger  being  a 
salaried   member  of  the  Executive ;    but    as    soon    as 


THE  ANNEXATION  DISCUSSED  25 

that  connection  was  severed  his  propaganda  started 
afresh.  So  serious  did  this  become,  that  the  English 
administration  decided  to  publish  a  newspaper  in 
Dutch  for  the  information  of  the  people.  The  Boeren- 
vriend  was  started,  and  distributed  gratis  amongst 
the  burghers ;  but  the  expense  of  keeping  a  paper 
of  that  kind  going  without  subscribers  or  advertise- 
ments speedily  put  an  end  to  the  enterprise.  The 
opportunity  was  thus  lost  of  effecting  a  change  in 
public  opinion  by  the  dissemination  of  an  antidote  to 
the  pernicious  doctrines  of  the  republican  Dutch  press 
and  the  personal  efforts  of  Paul  Kruger,  assisted  by 
Dr.  Jorrisen,  who  had  already  sounded  the  note  of 
opposition  to  the  continuance  of  the  British  adminis- 
tration. As  a  matter  of  course,  the  Advocate,  pub- 
lished at  Potchefstroom,  and  the  Transvaal  Argus, 
published  at  Pretoria,  both  in  the  English  language, 
did  not  reach  the  masses,  and  the  work  of  the 
agitation  against  the  new  Government  went  merrily 
on  until  Colonel  Lanyon,  the  Administrator,  thought 
proper  to  arrest  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the 
Volksstem  for  inciting  the  burghers  to  refuse  the 
payment  of  taxes.  This  strong  measure  rather  in- 
creased the  energy  of  the  rebellious  movement,  and 
made  Mr.  Jan  Celliers  a  martyr  in  the  popular  cause, 
which  was  just  the  very  thing  to  be  avoided,  unless  the 
Government  was  prepared  to  follow  the  matter  up  with 
promptitude  and  decision  such  as  the  occasion  required. 
Mr.  Celliers  became  in  the  popular  eye  a  patriot,  and 
was  made  after  the  retrocession  the  recipient  of  a 
memorial  in  the  shape  of  a  new  and  improved  print- 
ing plant  made  in  Belgium,  as  a  mark  of  the  national 
appreciation  of  his  services  on  behalf  of  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  country. 

Secret    meetings  were    held    during  1880  in   almost 
every    country    village    and    district     by    the    Dutch 


26  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

burghers,  the  result  of  which  was  afterwards  demon- 
strated by  the  completeness  of  the  arrangements  made 
for  obtaining  the  retrocession  of  the  country.  Field 
Cornets  and  Commandants  were  elected  other  than 
those  appointed  by  the  British  authorities,  and  every 
arrangement  made  for  a  general  rising  of  the  Dutch 
population.  Colonel  Lanyon,  the  Administrator,  ap- 
parently did  not  attach  much  importance  to  these 
movements,  notwithstanding  that  he  was  in  possession 
of  reports  made  by  some  of  the  Landdrosts  upon  the 
matter.  The  late  Sir  G.  P.  Colley,  who  met  his  death 
at  Amajuba,  made  a  tour  of  the  Transvaal  about  the 
middle  of  1880,  and  the  result  of  his  inquiries  and 
experience  was  that  the  Boers  were  loyal.  He  told 
the  writer  that  he  had  been  received  everywhere  with 
the  greatest  courtesy  and  kindness,  and  that  everything 
had  been  done  to  make  his  journey  satisfactory  and 
pleasant.  As  to  the  meetings  of  the  Boers  for  drill 
and  rifle  practice,  it  was  merely  carrying  out  the  law 
providing  for  periodical  wapenschouws,  and  no  inimical 
deductions  could  be  made  from  that  fact.  Nor  did  he 
think  much  of  the  other  facts,  relative  to  secret  meet- 
ings and  illegal  appointments  of  Field  Cornets  and 
Commandants  which  had  been  made,  as  indicative  of  a 
policy  of  resistance  to  the  British  authority.  No  doubt 
he  felt  secure,  and,  as  far  as  he  could  see,  a  like  feeling 
was  entertained  by  the  Administrator,  Sir  Owen  Lanyon, 
for  there  was  no  evidence  of  vigilance  or  careful  inquiry 
into  the  designs  of  the  Boers.  The  consequence  was 
that  everything  was  in  order  throughout  the  Transvaal 
for  a  general  rising  on  December  16  (Dingaan's  Day), 
1880,  on  which  day,  or  very  shortly  afterwards,  every 
village  was  occupied,  and  the  British  garrisons  besieged. 
It  is  outside  the  scope  of  this  book  to  dwell  upon  the 
incidents  of  the  war  which  followed.  Its  history  is 
■recorded  in  the  works  of  Mr.  John  Nixon  ('  A  Com- 


THE  ANNEXATION   DISCUSSED  27 

plete  History  of  the  Transvaal  War ')  and  of  Mr. 
T.  F.  Carter,  whose  work  is  crowded  with  valuable 
facts.  The  first- named  book  gives  the  view  of  events 
from  the  inside,  whilst  the  latter  deals  with  the  progress 
of  affairs  external  to  the  Transvaal. 

A  score  of  years  have  now  nearly  passed  since  the  out- 
break of  the  Boer  War  of  Independence,  as  the  burghers 
of  the  Transvaal  delight  to  call  their  revolt ;  but  it  does 
not  seem  that  the  lessons  which  were  so  obvious  to  those 
who  understand  the  Dutch  Boer  have  made  sufficient 
impression  upon  the  mind  of  the  British  public  or  the 
British  Ministers.  There  has  been  too  much  senti- 
mental twaddle  indulged  in,  in  the  idea  that  the  Boers 
were  a  people  '  rightly  struggling  to  be  free.'  The 
naked  fact  is  that,  ever  since  they  managed  to  shake  off 
the  trammels  of  civilization,  they  have  been  possessed 
with  the  idea  that  no  other  race  of  men  beside  them- 
selves have  any  right  to  be  in  South  Africa.  That  has 
been  the  basis  of  every  political  movement  in  the  past, 
as  soon  as  they  could  settle  the  question  of  personal 
predominance  amongst  themselves.  It  has  passed  into 
history  now,  but  must  have  escaped  notice,  that  when 
Prince  Alfred  made  a  tour  through  South  Africa,  Sir 
George  Grey,  then  Governor  of  the  Cape  Colony,  had 
to  apply  for  a  permit  for  His  Royal  Highness  to  pass 
through  the  Transvaal  on  his  way  to  Natal,  a  favour 
which  was  graciously  accorded  as  a  personal  tribute  to 
the  exalted  position  of  His  Royal  Highness. 

It  has,  from  the  very  earliest  period,  been  the  policy 
of  the  Boers  to  keep  up,  as  a  fundamental  principle, 
their  isolation  from  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  the}'  have 
discouraged  as  much  as  possible  the  intrusion  into  their 
country  of  strangers  in  blood  and  habit. 

What  was  the  cause — the  excuse  for — the  annexation  ? 
Was  it  justifiable  or  expedient  ?  The  first  question  is 
easily  answered  by  a  perusal  of  the  Queen's  Commission 


28  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

to  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone  (see  Appendix  A),  Was 
it  justifiable  ?  To  this  question  many  answers  have 
been  given.  The  majority  of  writers  have  stated  that 
the  British  Government  was  persuaded  to  go  into  the 
Transvaal  by  the  action  of  unscrupulous  speculators 
and  land  agents ;  but  that  argument  has  been  used  over 
and  over  again  when  any  movement  has  taken  place  for 
the  good  of  the  community.  It  can  generally  be  traced 
to  an  inspired  source,  and  it  is  favoured  by  the  Bond, 
the  Hollanders,  and  the  subsidized  press. 

Nevertheless,  there  is  not  the  slightest  doubt  that 
the  annexation  of  the  Transvaal  was  a  necessity  and 
for  the  good  of  that  country.  On  the  score  of  ex- 
pediency it  was  a  mistake.  Once  in  possession,  it 
cannot  be  denied  that  we  made  errors  in  not  speedily 
fulfilling  our  promise  to  give  responsible  government, 
and  in  the  appointment  of  Colonel  Lanyon  in  the 
place  of  Sir  T.  Shepstone.  Our  intentions  were  sound, 
our  policy  was  honest ;  but  the  tide  of  our  diplomacy 
ran  too  fast  for  the  Boers,  and  their  leaders  were  eager  to 
take  advantage  of  any  circumstance  which  might  lead 
them  back  to  their  old  positions  (see  Appendix  K). 
The  country  at  the  time  was  described  as,  '  like  a 
ripe  cherry,  ready  to  fall  into  our  mouths  ' ;  and  there 
is  no  doubt  that  many,  driven  to  desperation  by  mis- 
government  and  the  fact  that  the  country  was  hope- 
lessly bankrupt  (there  was  3s.  6d.  in  the  Treasury), 
thought  the  psychological  moment  had  arrived,  when 
such  was  far  from  being  the  case.  Outside  opinion 
could  not  sway  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone,  'a  man  whose 
work  amongst  natives,  with  whom  calmness  and  dignity 
are  so  necessary,  will  be  remembered  so  long  as  there  is 
a  black  man  south  of  the  Zambesi,'  and  it  is  due  to  his 
knowledge  of  the  serious  danger  in  which  the  country 
stood  from  native  sources,  as  well  as  the  fact  that  it 
could  not  alone  hope  to  breast  the  storm  it  had  done 


THE  ANNEXATION  DISCUSSED  29 

so  much  to  raise,  that  his  opinion  was  confirmed  that 
nothing  short  of  annexation  could  save  the  Transvaal 
from  fearful  calamity.  And  yet  '  the  cherry  was  not 
ripe,'  so  far  as  the  Dutch  population  was  concerned. 

Had  England  withheld  her  hand,  the  fiercest  native 
tribes  in  South  Africa  would  doubtless  within  a  few  months 
have  been  at  the  Boers'  throats.  Secocoeni,  Cetewayo, 
and  the  savage  northern  tribes  of  the  Zoutpansberg  (who 
had  previously  defeated  Paul  Kruger  at  Schoemansdal, 
and  have  of  late  years  given  the  Transvaal  so  much 
trouble),  would  not  have  hesitated  to  combine  forces 
for  the  purpose  of  finally  destroying  their  hereditary 
enemy.  To  avoid  this  calamity  was  the  plain  duty 
of  England,  even  if  the  natives  had  only  the  faintest 
chance  of  succeeding.  We  did  our  duty,  but  at  what 
a  cost !  We  saved  the  lives  of  the  Boers,  and  in  their 
stead  hundreds  of  British  soldiers  and  loyal  colonists 
drenched  with  their  blood  the  plains  of  Natal  and  the 
Eastern  Transvaal.  British  fighters  only  too  soon 
afterwards  received  their  reward  in  the  shape  of  bullets 
from  the  rifles  of  the  very  people  they  had  succoured. 
It  must  not  in  fairness,  however,  be  assumed  that  all 
Boers  were  disloyal ;  many  had  to  be  driven  by  force 
to  fight  against  us,  and  there  were  some  who  positively 
refused  to  leave  their  farms  to  fight  against  men  whom 
they  looked  upon  as  their  best  friends. 

We  need  only  give  a  passing  glance  at  the  Zulu  War, 
to  notice  one  bright  spot  in  that  critical  time  in  the 
devoted  courage  of  Piet  Uys  and  his  companions  from 
the  Wakkerstroom  district,  who  laid  down  their  lives 
by  the  side  of  the  British  soldiers,  content  to  know 
they  were  doing  their  duty.  This  is  as  it  should  be, 
and  as  it  will  be  when  equality  drives  away  the  shadow 
which  Krugerism  has  cast  over  South  Africa.  We 
can  but  contrast  with  Uys's  action  the  answer  of 
General  Joubert  to  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  when  the  latter 


30  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

appealed  to  him  to  cast  in  his  lot  with  the  English  in 
fighting  the  common  foe.  He  said  '  he  could  only  dis- 
cuss the  grant  of  the  independence  of  the  Transvaal, 
and  until  that  was  accomplished  the  people  would  do 
nothing.' 

But  we  have  digressed.  Returning  therefore  to  the 
subject  of  annexation,  it  must  be  admitted  that 
President  Burgers,  the  Volksraad,  and  the  Executive 
protested  against  it,  in  order  to  leave  a  loophole,  if 
necessary,  for  a  future  policy ;  but  Burgers  in  his 
vindication  only  proves  conclusively  the  justification 
of  British  intervention.  He  says,  referring  to  the 
Secocoeni  campaign  : 

'  How  different  elements  here  combined  against  me  ;  how  the 
motley  army,  constantly  stirred  up  to  mutiny,  at  last  openly  de- 
serted me,  are  matters  of  history.  It  was  not  here,  however,  where 
the  greatest  mischief  was  done.  At  home,  in  the  capital,  in  the 
cities,  the  spirit  of  evil  was  busy,  and  on  my  return  from  the 
expedition  I  was  betrayed  and  deserted.  By  the  aid  of  the  Raad, 
however,  which  met  in  extraordinary  session  in  the  spring  of  1876, 
the  evil  was  arrested,  and  a  plan  arranged  to  carry  on  the  war  to  a 
successful  issue  by  means  of  a  volunteer  corps.  But  now  stepped 
in  openly  another  element  which  formerly  acted  only  in  secret,  viz., 
British  interference,  which  got  a  stro7ig  support  from  the  Boers  them- 
selves ajid  one  of  their  chief  leaders,  P.  Kruger,  who  had  betrayed  me 
and  contrived  to  split  up  the  Boers  into  two  great  parties  by  accept- 
ing the  candidature  for  the  Presidency,  after  having  induced  me  to 
accept  it,  and  having  promised  his  as  well  as  his  party's  support ; 
and  this  during  my  absence  on  the  south-west  boundary  to  settle 
some  matters  with  the  natives.  .  .  .  The  Boers  following  Kruger 
considered  themselves  absolved  from  their  obligations  to  the  State 
under  my  rule,  while  the  Boers  adhering  to  me  did  not  care  to 
support  a  State  of  which  Kruger  was  to  become  the  chief ;  and  so 
both  parties  not  only  refused  to  pay  their  war-taxes,  but  also  the 
ordinary  nominal  tax  on  land  and  other  taxes.  This  soon  had  its 
effect,  and  when  Shepstone  came  to  Pretoria  the  Government  was 
already  unable  to  meet  any  of  its  money  obligations.  The  men  of 
the  forts  fighting  for  the  'country  could  neither  get  their  pay  nor 
their  supplies,  officials  no  salary,  post  contractors  no  money.  .  .  . 
By  the  end  of  January,  1877,  the  exchequer  was  empty.  At  the 
same  time  the  clerical  faction  was  active  in  seducing  the  people. 


THE  ANNEXATION  DISCUSSED  31 

Slips  were  printed  and  distributed  ;  everyone  was  roused  in  the 
name  of  God  and  religion  to  abandon  the  Liberal  President.  Faint- 
hearted friends  were  induced  to  sit  quiet,  while  a  constant  cross- 
fire of  lies  was  kept  up,  and  the  pulpit  was  degraded  into  a  political 
catapult. 

'  I  foresaw  the  dangers  which  would  accrue  from  this  state  of 
things  for  the  Republic  ;  and,  in  order  to  upset  Shepstone's  design 
at  one  blow  by  uniting  all  parties,  I  proposed  to  Kruger  that  he 
and  I  both  should  withdraw  from  the  candidature  for  the  Presi- 
dency, promising  at  the  same  time  that  I  would  exert  my  utmost 
to  get  in  a  man  like  Stockenstroom,  and  to  assist  him  with  all  my 
might.  This  Paul  Kruger  flatly  refused  to  do,  saying  that  I  might 
withdraw,  but  that  he  would  not.  Fruitlessly  did  I  press  him  by 
showing  how  our  danger  lay  in  our  want  of  unity  ;  how  the  English 
Government  would  have  cause  to  step  in  on  the  ground  of  humanity 
to  avert  a  civil  war,  to  prevent  a  general  rising  of  the  natives,  etc. 
He  would  not  hear  of  retiring.' 

Mr.  Burgers  also  states  that  Shepstone  made  no 
secret  to  him  of  his  intention  to  annex  the  country, 
unless  matters  were  altered  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
British  Government.  He  thereupon  submitted  a  plan 
to  Sir  T.  Shepstone  embodying  the  necessary  reforms, 
with  which  he  declared  himself  satisfied,  and  which  if 
carried  by  the  Raad  would  have  obviated  the  necessity 
for  annexation.  Let  us  quote  Mr.  Burgers'  own  words 
to  show  how  the  Volksraad  treated  these  measures 
which  were  so  vital  to  their  country.     He  says : 

'  For  days  every  article  was  wrenched  from  the  Opposition  till 
half  the  Constitution  was  adopted.  But  while  this  stronghold  was 
being  erected  others  were  undermined,  and  during  those  long  dis- 
cussions the  traitors  had  time  to  demoralize  the  people  by  discord 
still  more.  Paul  Kruger  was  doing  his  utmost  to  make  the  Boers 
believe  that  I  was  aiming  at  becoming  a  dictator,  and  that  the  new 
Constitution  was  a  means  of  self-aggrandisement  proposed  by  me 
and  intended  to  be  forced  from  the  people  now  they  were  in  danger. 
.  .  .  This  was  but  too  successful.  The  Raad  began  to  flag  in  its 
zeal,  and  only  adopted  half  the  measures  proposed.  Constantly 
worried  by  calls  for  payment  while  we  had  no  money  in  the 
treasury,  harassed  and  pressed  by  the  English  party  with  memorials 
in  favour  of  confederation  or  annexation,  asked  for  payment  by  the 
Boers  for  losses  sustained  in  the  war,  while  they  refused  to  pay  up 


32  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

their  taxes,  driven  almost  to  despair  by  betrayal  and  corruption  on 
all  sides,  ruined  in  my  private  estate  as  well  as  in  health,  I  at 
last  made  a  final  attempt  by  boldly  proclaiming  the  new  Constitu- 
tion as  far  as  it  was  adopted,  and  by  forming  the  new  Cabinet.  But 
here  also  I  met  with  insurmountable  obstacles.  Joubert  refused  to 
accept,  even  for  a  time,  the  office  of  Secretary  for  Native  Affairs. 
Struben  also  refused,  and  so  did  one  or  two  others  ;  while  those 
who  would  accept  were  objected  to  on  the  ground  that  they  were 
new-comers. 

'  Seeing  my  last  attempt  fail,  the  British  Commissioner,  having 
a  handful  of  names  fairly  or  foully  obtained  in  favour  of  annexa- 
tion, thought  his  time  had  come  to  act.' 

This  posthumous  letter  is  characterized  by  much 
vituperation  of  England.  Strange  to  say,  this  en- 
lightened man  could  not  free  his  mind  from  the  general 
Boer  idea  that  as  a  nation  we  are  perfidious.  It  is 
impossible  to  quote  all  his  remarks,  but  the  concluding 
ones  are  a  complete  vindication  of  the  arguments  which 
have  been  brought  forward  in  favour  of  the  annexation. 
He  says  : 

'  Had  I  not  endured  in  silence,  had  I  not  borne  patiently  all  the 
vile  accusations,  but  out  of  selfishness  or  fear  told  the  plain  truth  of 
the  case,  the  Transvaal  would  never  have  had  the  consideration  it 
has  now  received  from  Great  Britain.  However  unjust  the  annexa- 
tion was,  7ny  self-justificatio7i  would  have  exposed  the  Boers  to  such 
an  extent,  and  the  state  of  the  country  in  such  a  way,  that  it  would 
have  been  deprived  both  of  the  sympathy  of  the  world  and  the  con- 
sideration of  English  politicians.^ 

The  italicized  portions  of  the  above  remarkable 
vindication  show  that  when  these  lines  were  written 
Kruger  was  playing  one  of  those  political  games  at 
which  he  has  so  few  equals  in  South  Africa.  Uncertain 
whether  the  English  party  did  not  after  all  offer  the 
best  share  of  *  the  loaves  and  fishes,'  and  ever  watchful 
for  the  openings  which  the  future  might  have  in  store 
for  him,  he  engaged  in  a  non-committal  policy,  which, 
while  ruining  his  country  at  the  time,  and  discrediting 
and  destroying  the  unhappy  President  Burgers,  enabled 
him  either  to  fall  into  line  with  the  English,  provided 


THE  ANNEXATION  DISCUSSED  33 

they  paid  him  well  enough,  or,  as  events  turned  out, 
to  pose  as  the  saviour  of  his  people  from  British 
oppression. 

It  is  easy  to  sway  Boer  opinion  by  an  appeal  to 
former  events,  and  to  make  them  accept  without 
challenge  facts  that  have  been  '  arranged  '  with  plausible 
cunning.  But  these  agitators  had  something  far  more 
substantial  behind  them  than  this ;  they  had  secured 
the  promise  of  assistance  from  many  Cape  and  English 
politicians.  While  this  was  perhaps  excusable  on  the 
part  of  the  former,  it  could  be  little  short  of  treachery 
on  the  part  of  the  latter. 

Both  before  and  during  the  war  it  was  openly 
asserted  that  the  show  of  force  was  merely  a  piece  of 
bluff,  and  that  the  Boers  had  only  to  make  a  sufficient 
demonstration  to  have  the  country  handed  back  to 
them.  They  received  communications  during  the  war, 
at  a  time  when  matters  were  critical,  and  when  many 
of  the  Boers  were  on  the  point  of  leaving  for  their 
farms,  urging  them  to  hold  on,  as  the  success  of  their 
plans  was  assured  to  them  by  their  friends  in  England ; 
and  this  continued  while  English  and  loyal  colonists 
were  exposed  to  horrors  which  only  a  close  state  of 
siege  can  produce. 

The  Boers  had  their  own  committee  in  London, 
mainly  composed  of  Irish  traitors  and  renegade 
Radicals.  But  such  responsible  people  even  as  Mr 
Leonard  Courtney  and  Sir  Donald  Currie  were  per- 
sistent in  urging  their  cause.  The  latter  is  now  no 
doubt  convinced  of  the  mistake  he  then  made ;  but  the 
former  has  even  recently  had  the  audacity  to  defend 
those  actions  and  applaud  his  country's  enemies. 

It  is  not  fitting  to  speak  ill  of  the  dead,  but  a  word 
in  passing  must  be  devoted  to  Mr.  Gladstone's  policy, 
which  is  dealt  with  more  fully  elsewhere.  His  was  the 
ill-starred  lot  to   be  blind  to  the  issues  at  stake,   to 

3 


34  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

juggle  with  the  Empire  from  motives  of  expediency,  to 
deceive  the  pubhc  with  the  cry  of  blood-guiltiness, 
when  to-day  Lord  Kimberley  admits  the  real  explana- 
tion of  that  pernicious  peace — '  fear  of  the  effects  of  the 
war  on  the  Free  State  and  Cape  Colony.'  It  has  been 
freely  stated  in  the  Transvaal  that  at  this  period  Mr. 
Gladstone  cabled  to  Mr.  Hofmeyr  as  the  leader  of  the 
Dutch  party  at  the  Cape,  asking  him  for  advice,  to 
which  the  latter  replied,  '  Remember  the  example  of 
the  American  colonies.'  The  exact  wording  may  not 
be  as  stated,  but  that  the  leaders  of  the  Africander 
Bond  were  consulted,  of  that  there  can  now  be  no 
doubt. 

For  the  lesser  lights  of  the  Cabinet  there  can  likewise 
be  nothing  but  blame.  That  the  Duke  of  Argyll  should 
admit  that  the  matter  was  treated  departmentally,  and 
he  knew  very  little  about  it,  seems  extraordinary  to  a 
colonial.  Mr.  Chamberlain  showed  in  his  speeches  at 
that  time  an  inexplicable  lack  of  comprehensive  know- 
ledge of  the  subject,  and  one  can  only  be  thankful  that 
he  so  soon  saw  the  error  of  those  days.  It  is  to-day 
difficult  to  realize  that  he  ever  uttered  these  words  : 
^  Under  the  circumstances  which  he  had  described, 
to  have  continued  to  maintain  the  annexation  would 
have  been  an  act  which  he  could  only  describe  in 
terms  which  had  been  applied  by  a  high  authority  to 
a  different  subject,  as  an  act  of  "force,  fraud,  and 
folly."  ' 

The  cool  treatment  to  which  Mr.  Kimber  White  and 
the  Loyalist  deputation  (who  proceeded  to  London  to 
protest  against  the  retrocession)  were  subjected  by 
the  Liberal  Government,  and  particularly  by  Lord  Kim- 
berley, calls  for  brief  mention.  That  Lord  Kimberley 
should  keep  Mr.  White  waiting  for  a  week  before  re- 
ceiving him,  anyone  who  knows  his  Downing  Street 
can  understand ;  but,  when  received,  for  Mr.  White  to 


THE  ANNEXATION  DISCUSSED  35 

be  informed  by  that  nobleman  that  '  he  was  too  pro- 
nounced '  was  impolitic,  to  say  the  least,  Thouj^htless 
utterances  such  as  these  sink  deep  into  the  hearts  of 
colonists,  and  were  at  that  time  calculated,  in  addition 
to  the  treatment  they  received,  to  turn  loyal  Imperialists 
into  red-hot  Republicans.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  this  and 
similar  later  mistakes  succeeded  in  many  instances  in 
accomplishing  this  effect,  and  to  them  may  be  attributed 
much  of  the  trouble  of  to-day.  The  memory  of  these 
bitter  days  survived  when  serious  efforts  were  made 
to  revive  the  drooping  cause  of  Imperialism,  but  few 
remained  faithful  through  the  hour  of  trial  ;  in  fact,  it 
was  almost  a  wonder  that  a  single  loyal  subject  remained 
in  the  whole  of  South  Africa. 

Of  course,  Paul  Kruger  and  his  followers  were  by 
no  means  displeased  with  this  phase  of  the  situation. 
While  not  prepared  to  give  equal  rights  until  he  was 
sure  of  his  burghers'  predominance,  his  policy  was  to 
encourage  the  Republican  as  against  the  Imperial  idea 
in  South  Africa,  and  to  embitter  the  English  as  much 
as  possible  against  their  own  Government.  What  power- 
ful allies  he  had  in  Downing  Street  in  the  Africandei 
Bond,  and  in  our  weak  and  swaying  Governors,  we 
have  yet  to  relate. 

Curious  as  it  may  seem,  our  great  danger  in  South 
Africa  did  not  lie  so  much  in  the  Boers  as  in  the 
Machiavellian  policy,  so  skilfully  planned  by  Kruger 
and  elaborated  by  Dr.  Leyds,  of  driving  those  British 
into  their  arms  who  were  being  prepared  to  accept  a 
Republic  on  any  terms  rather  than  again  approach  an 
ungrateful  Mother  Country. 

With  the  huge  Secret  Service  Fund,  certain  Free  State 
politicians,  the  organization  of  the  Africander  Bond, 
and  men  like  even  Rhodes  and  Sivewright  appearing 
as  the  high-priests  of  Africander  predominance,  can  it 
be  wondered  at  that  the  Loyalists  knew  scarcely  where 

3—2 


36  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

to  turn  ?  But  the  silent  sentinels  of  the  Empire  were 
watching — those  men  whom  we  never  hear  of,  whom 
the  press  knows  not — waiting  and  watching,  unswerving 
in  their  devotion  to  Queen  and  country,  convinced  that 
England  at  last  *  would  to  herself  be  true.'  They 
checked  this  foul  conspiracy,  and  laid  the  seeds  in 
1894  which  will  grow  into  a  tree  of  liberty  in  the  new 
century. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE      INTERREGNUM 

The  conversion  of  the  South  African  RepubHc  into  a 
British  dependency  took  place  on  April  12,  1877,  and 
the  British  flag  was  hoisted  at  Pretoria  on  Her  Majesty's 
birthday,  May  24,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  number  of 
townspeople  and  Dutch  farmers  from  the  neighbouring 
districts.  As  usual,  a  review  of  the  troops  then  in  the 
capital  took  place  in  honour  of  the  occasion,  and  their 
evolutions  were  witnessed  with  the  greatest  interest  by 
the  farmers  assembled,  to  whom  the  spectacle  of  a 
thousand  red-coats  going  through  a  sham  fight  was 
a  novelty.  Not  the  slightest  disturbance  or  intimation 
that  the  proceedings  were  objectionable  occurred,  and 
the  general  impression  was  that  the  action  of  Sir  T. 
Shepstone  was  hailed  as  a  satisfactory  solution  of  a 
difficult  and  embarrassing  situation. 

The  address  to  the  farmers  issued  by  the  Adminis- 
trator, couched  in  friendly  terms,  was  well  received 
both  by  Boers  and  British,  and  had  its  conditions  been 
accurately  observed,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
it  would  have  consolidated  British  power  in  the 
Transvaal. 

The  relief  of  the  burghers  from  commando  duty  was 
calculated  to  popularize  the  change  of  Government, 
the  more  so  because  the  Boers  had  but  recently 
returned  to   their   homes  from  the  fruitless  expedition 


38  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

against  Secocoeni,  and  having  had  enough  of  the  hard- 
ships incidental  to  a  campaign,  were  anxious  for  a  period 
of  rest. 

It  was  a  poHtic  move  on  the  part  of  Sir  T.  Shepstone 
to  impress  upon  the  farmers  that  they  were  the  bees  to 
make  honey,  whilst  the  trouble  of  guarding  the  hives 
would  in  future  rest  upon  the  British  soldier.  It  was 
also  shown  that  he  was  in  earnest  when  he  set  to  work 
to  reduce  their  old  enemy  to  submission,  without  calling 
upon  them  to  yield  personal  service,  or  to  be  com- 
mandeered for  provisions,  waggons,  or  cattle,  without 
oeing  well  paid  for  their  services.  That  was  an  ex- 
perience which  had  not  been  their  forefathers'  lot  or 
their  own  for  many  scores  of  years.  It  was  one  of  the 
immediate  fruits  of  the  annexation  which  the  respect- 
able and  industrious  farmer  could  appreciate  ;  but  there 
was  a  class  which  did  not  take  quite  the  same  view. 
They  had  been  accustomed  to  regard  wars  with  the 
Kaffir  tribes  as  a  sure  means  of  getting  servants — more 
accurately,  slaves — cattle,  and  other  loot,  at  a  minimum 
of  cost  to  themselves  either  in  blood  or  money.  When 
their  quarrel  with  the  aborigines  was  left  in  the  hands  of 
the  British  Government,  and  brought  to  a  close  without 
their  help,  they  lost  the  chance  of  plunder,  and  longed 
for  the  good  old  times  to  come  back  again,  when  each 
man  was  a  law  unto  himself,  subject  to  no  restraint 
from  more  or  less  sympathetic  neighbours.  By  these 
people  —  and  numerically  they  formed  a  considerable 
proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  rural  districts — 
the  new  system  was  regarded  as  trenching  on  the  rights 
of  men  who  had  '  made  the  land  clean '  by  their  ruth- 
less destruction  of  native  life.  That  was  a  germ  of 
serious  discontent  in  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  it 
was  not  lost  sight  of  by  certain  influential  men  among 
them  who  had  their  own  axes  to  grind.  Of  these  first 
and  foremost  stood  Paul  Krus:er. 


THE  INTERREGNUM  39 

We  have  alluded  to  his  scandalous  attempt  to  black- 
mail the  then  Colonial  Secretary,  Mr.  Osborn,  which 
succeeded  at  the  time.  The  refusal  to  increase  his 
salary  resulted  in  his  resignation  as  member  of  the 
Executive.  Paul  Kruger  knew  his  value,  and  if  the 
Government  did  not,  so  much  the  worse  for  the 
Government.  In  this  calculation  he  was  perfectly 
right,  for  instead  of  being  a  friend  he  became  a  power- 
ful enemy,  and  it  was  not  long  before  his  inimical 
influence  began  to  be  felt. 

The  great  mistake  in  our  policy  was  the  failure  to 
give  the  people  representatives,  which  the  Boers  said 
implied  that  if  the  promise  of  Great  Britain  could 
be  broken  in  one  respect  it  might  also  be  altered  in 
the  other  matters  contained  in  the  manifesto  issued  at 
the  time  of  the  annexation.  That  that  was  a  fatal 
error  was  self-evident  to  all  who  knew  the  character  of 
the  people. 

Had  Sir  T.  Shepstone  possessed  the  courage  to  call 
the  old  Volksraad  together  to  ratify  the  annexation, 
there  can  be  no  reasonable  doubt  that  it  would  have 
been  sanctioned.  Ways  and  means  would  have  been 
found  to  quiet  opposition. 

The  failure  to  re-establish  those  representative  insti- 
tutions which  were  promised  gave  a  handle  to  the 
agitators,  of  which  they  made  prompt  and  effective 
use,  to  the  discomfiture  of  those  who  hoped  and  ex- 
pected that  the  advent  of  British  authority  would  bring 
about  the  regeneration  of  the  country.  Before  Sir  T. 
Shepstone  had  the  opportunity  of  reconstructing  the 
body  politic,  the  state  of  affairs  in  Natal  and  amongst 
the  Zulu  tribes  became  so  threatening  that  it  was 
deemed  wise  to  recall  him  and  make  use  of  his  great 
influence  with  the  natives  to  bring  about  a  satisfactory 
termination  of  the  impending  trouble.  At  considerable 
personal  risk  he  undertook  the  duty,  and   for  a  time 


40  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

was  successful  in  averting  the  danger  threatening  the 
colony  of  Natal.  The  British  Government  in  the 
meanwhile  took  the  false  step  of  appointing  Colonel 
Owen  Lanyon  as  Administrator  of  the  Transvaal,  a 
proceeding  which  was  no  more  relished  by  the  Europeans 
than  by  the  Boer  population.  The  policy  of  that 
gallant  officer  contrasted  strongly  with  the  milder  system 
pursued  by  his  predecessor,  and  the  burghers  regarded 
his  appointment  as  an  indication  that  they  were  to  be 
ruled  as  a  conquered  people,  without  having  a  voice 
in  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  their  country. 
Their  tacit  acquiescence  in  the  annexation  had  speedily 
developed  into  discontent,  with  the  result  that  the 
change  effected  by  this  procedure  merely  fanned  the 
embers  of  the  agitation,  already  gathering  strength 
among  the  farming  population,  who  regarded  them- 
selves as  the  backbone  of  the  political  system. 

The  Transvaal  Executive,  becoming  aware  of  the 
growing  discontent,  and  recognising  the  danger  which 
was  likely  to  arise  therefrom,  made  a  futile  and  fatuous 
endeavour  to  avert  the  consequences  arising  out  of  the 
breach  of  faith  by  nominating  a  Council  endowed  with 
legislative  functions.  This  foolish  scheme  was  devised 
either  by  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  or  with  his  sanction,  and 
it  excited  a  feeling  of  despair  amongst  the  better  in- 
formed, because  it  provided  the  agitators  with  a  power- 
ful weapon  against  the  local  government. 

Whatever  were  the  merits  of  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley 
at  that  time  as  a  military  man,  it  was  clear  that  he 
had  not  the  necessary  qualifications  for  administering 
with  success  the  domestic  affairs  of  a  people  who 
had  become  suspicious  of  the  motives  and  inten- 
tions of  the  British  Government.  The  silly  manu- 
facture of  a  baker's  dozen  of  kinglets  for  the  settle- 
ment of  Zululand  after  the  war  confirms  one's  poor 
opinion    of  his    merits    as    a   civil  administrator.      As 


THE  INTERREGNUM  41 

regards  Colonel  Lanyon,  there  was  a  personal  dislike 
to  him,  not  merely  because  it  was  thought  that  he  had 
been  sent  to  ride  roughshod  over  the  people,  but  for  the 
singular  reason  that,  owing  to  his  swarthy  complexion, 
he  was  thought  to  have  black  blood  running  in  his 
veins !  Amongst  the  old  back-veldt  Boers  it  was  the 
common  opinion  that  the  Administrator  was  not  a  pure- 
bred white  man,  and  it  was  violently  contended  that  a 
'  bastaard '  had  been  put  over  them  by  Great  Britain  as 
a  sign  of  degradation.  The  Grond-Wet,  their  constitu- 
tion, expressly  stipulates  that  there  shall  be  no  equality 
between  the  white  and  coloured  races,  and  the  appoint- 
ment of  a  dark-complexioned  man  as  Chief  Magistrate 
was  an  offence  which  was  not  to  be  tolerated  by  the 
Boers.  Among  themselves  they  are  not  so  fastidious, 
for  there  are  many  families  holding  good  positions, 
wealthy  farmers,  who  are  not  altogether  free  from  '  a 
dash  of  the  tar-brush.'  And,  again,  it  had  been  formally 
resolved  by  the  Volksraad  that  a  member  of  that  body 
must  be  at  least  four  removes  from  the  miscegenation 
of  his  forefathers  before  he  is  fitted  for  legislative  duties. 
Without  any  evidence  but  the  colour  of  his  skin,  and, 
of  course,  without  a  shadow  of  reason,  Colonel  Lanyon 
was  looked  upon  as  barred  from  the  lawful  exercise  of 
authority,  and  the  spirit  of  rebellion  became  more  and 
more  rampant. 

The  fact  that  the  country  was  gradually  becoming 
more  prosperous  under  British  administration  weighed 
nothing  with  the  Boers,  and  only  served  to  confirm 
them  in  the  belief  that  the  merit  of  bringing  about 
prosperity  rested  with  themselves,  and  was  not  in  the 
slightest  degree  attributable  to  the  better  and  more 
honest  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  country. 
The  consequence  was  that,  as  the  people  grew  richer — 
principally  through  the  expenditure  for  the  keep  of  the 
troops  sent  by  the  British  Government  to  subdue  their 


42  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

native  enemies — they  became  clamorous  to  the  point 
of  rebelhon  for  the  recognition  of  their  independence. 
Although  this  state  of  things  was  known  to  the  Govern- 
ment, it  was  apparently  thought  of  little  consequence. 
The  Boers  had  been  unable  to  subdue  a  Kaffir  chief 
(Secocoeni),  and  it  was  not  thought  possible  that  they 
would  have  the  audacity  to  oppose  Her  Majesty's 
forces,  so  that  their  preparations  were  looked  upon  with 
good-natured  contempt  as  being  merely  a  childish  dis- 
play of  spleen. 

The  first  overt  act  of  a  rebellious  character  took 
place  in  the  town  of  Middelburg,  where  a  consider- 
able number  of  Boers  insisted  upon  a  store-keeper 
supplying  them  with  powder,  caps,  and  lead,  although 
they  had  not  the  requisite  permit  to  make  such 
purchases.  The  store-keeper  complained  to  the  Land- 
drost,  and  made  an  affidavit  as  to  the  conduct  of 
some  eighteen  or  twenty  Boers  who  had  acted  illegally 
in  taking  all  his  available  ammunition  without  pro- 
ducing the  permit  required  by  the  law,  passed  and  in 
operation  years  before  the  annexation  took  place.  A 
report  being  made  to  the  Government  by  the  Landdrost 
upon  the  subject,  he  was  instructed  to  issue  summonses 
against  the  men  whose  names  were  known,  and  on 
the  appointed  day  they  answered  to  the  charge.  The 
accused  secured  the  legal  assistance  of  Dr.  Jorissen  as 
counsel  on  their  behalf;  but  in  the  end  they  were  found 
guilty,  and  a  fine  of  ^^^5  was  imposed  upon  each  offender 
against  the  law  regulating  the  sale  of  ammunition. 
As  a  precautionary  measure  the  Government  ordered  a 
squadron  of  the  6th  Dragoon  Guards  to  proceed  to 
Middelburg,  and  they  remained  there  for  a  short  time 
after  the  trial  was  concluded. 

It  is  pretty  clear  that  at  that  time  the  party  which 
took  possession  of  the  ammunition  (which,  it  may  be 
observed,  was  paid  for  at  once)  was  acting  prematurely, 


THE  INTERREGNUM  43 

as  nothing  was  allowed  to  transpire  for  some  months  as 
to  the  ultimate  objects  of  the  Boers. 

The  military  authorities,  in  fact,  refused  to  believe 
that  there  was  any  danger — a  belief  unfortunately  shared 
by  the  majorit)^  of  the  militar}'  officers  who  were  in 
South  Africa  at  that  time.  They  would  neither  profit 
by  warnings  nor  take  the  advice  of  men  who  had 
lifelong  experience  of  the  people  with  whom  they 
had  to  deal ;  and  the  natural  result  has  been  disaster, 
which  the  admitted  bravery,  courage,  and  endurance  of 
the  men  under  their  command  could  not  retrieve.  In 
the  future  settlement  of  the  affairs  of  the  Transvaal 
and  Free  State,  it  may  be  most  earnestly  hoped  that 
a  military  administrator  will  not  be  permanently  ap- 
pointed. It  will  doubtless  be  necessary  in  the  first 
instance,  and  for  a  few  months,  that  military  authority 
shall  prevail  in  the  conquered  territories  ;  but  when  the 
country  has  become  settled,  the  government  should  be 
vested  either  in  a  colonial  of  proved  loyalty,  or  in  a 
Civil  Servant  of  the  Crown  who  has  shown  himself  to 
be  possessed  of  the  qualities  of  courage  and  justice,  and 
at  the  same  time  a  courteous  regard  for  the  opinions  of 
those  whose  local  experience  entitles  them  to  be  heard 
with  deference.  If  that  had  been  done,  and  the  authori- 
ties at  home  had  been  trustful  of  their  representatives, 
South  Africa,  instead  of  being  the  grave  of  reputations, 
would  have  been  the  source  of  great  honour  to  the 
Proconsuls  of  Great  Britain,  and  of  immeasurable 
advantage  to  the  people. 

There  are  hopeful  signs  that  the  case  of  Sir  Bartle 
Frere  will  prove  the  last  one  of  a  great  administrator 
and  good  man  being  sacrificed  to  the  clamour  of 
ignorant  and  prejudiced  cliques,  banded  together  in 
that  rebellious  spirit  which  has  so  persistently  been 
fanned  amongst  the  Dutch  population  of  South  Africa. 
(See  Appendix  G.) 


44  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

The  present  High  Commissioner  and  Governor  of 
the  Cape  Colony  is  a  worthy  successor  to  Sir  Bartle 
Frere,  and  has  shown  clearly  enough  that  men  of  the 
right  calibre  are  still  to  be  found  in  Great  Britain,  equal 
to  any  duty,  however  difficult  of  performance.  So  far, 
he  has  the  almost  unique  experience  of  a  Governor 
of  the  Cape  being  backed  up  by  the  British  Govern- 
ment, which  is  especially  gratifying,  as  he  has  been 
virulently  assailed  by  a  section  of  the  British  and 
colonial  press. 

Towards  the  end  of  1880  acts  of  rebeUion  took  the 
place  of  secret  treason,  and  these  soon  resulted  in  the 
war  of '  independence.' 


CHAPTER  V 

THE    WAR    OF    INDEPENDENCE 

It  is  scarcely  possible  in  a  work  of  this  nature  to 
narrate  events  consecutively,  and  we  must  plead 
guilty  of  occasional  discursiveness.  Unfortunately  the 
Transvaal  newspapers  published  before,  during,  and 
after  the  rebellion  of  the  Boers  are  not  available,  and 
the  writers  have  to  depend  for  much  of  the  following 
upon  their  memory  and  their  intimate  connection  with 
the  events  which  they  attempt  to  narrate.  The  story 
of  the  war,  as  well  as  what  preceded  and  succeeded  it, 
has  been  frequently  told ;  but  there  are  many  important 
points  in  connection  with  it  which  are  here  stated  for 
the  first  time,  and  which  may  prove  of  particular  value 
at  the  present  time. 

A  mass  meeting  of  the  Boers  was  fixed  to  take  place 
at  Paardekraal  on  December  lo,  1880,  and  as  soon  as 
it  became  known  the  Administrator  issued  an  admoni- 
tory proclamation  forbidding  the  meeting,  and  calling 
upon  the  well-disposed  to  stay  away.  At  that  time 
there  were  but  few  peaceable  persons  left  among  the 
Boer  population,  and  no  notice  was  taken  of  the  pro- 
clamation. This  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  when  previous 
documents  of  the  same  nature  had  been  treated  with 
contempt,  and  no  action  had  been  taken  to  vindicate 
the  authority  or  powers  of  the  Government.  The  people 
assembled  in  great  force,  being,  for  the  most  part,  armed, 


46  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

and  vows  were  made  and  stones  cast  by  each  individual, 
pledging  all  to  strive  for  freedom  from  the  British  rule. 
This  ceremony  was  performed  with  due  solemnity,  and 
on  December  i6,  the  anniversary  of  their  fight  and 
victory  over  the  Zulu  chief  Dingaan,  near  Bushman's 
River  in  Natal,  the  first  public  act  of  rebellion  was 
enacted  by  the  proclamation  of  a  Republican  Govern- 
ment, with  headquarters  at  Heidelberg.  At  the  same 
time  and  place  the  reins  of  government  were  assumed 
by  a  triumvirate  consisting  of  Mr.  S.  J.  P.  Kruger, 
P.  J.  Joubert,  Commandant-General,  and  M.  W.  Pre- 
torius,  a  former  President  of  the  Republic.  To  these 
three  persons,  assisted  by  Dr.  Jorissen  and  Mr.  E. 
Bok,  and  a  few  old  Volksraad  members,  was  entrusted 
the  direction  of  affairs.  Mr.  Kruger  had  managed  his 
part  well,  and  he  at  once  became  the  head-centre  of 
the  rebellion,  the  foremost  man  among  his  compatriots. 
It  was  not  long  before  acts  of  hostility  took  place,  the 
first  shot  being  fired  at  Potchefstroom,  where  a  small 
body  of  troops  had  been  quartered,  armed  with  a  couple 
of  light  fieldpieces.  The  origin  of  the  action  was  to 
be  found  in  the  resistance  of  a  man  named  Bezuidenhout 
to  the  execution  of  a  warrant  authorizing  the  sale  of  a 
waggon  belonging  to  him,  on  account  of  his  refusal  to 
pay  taxes,  which  was  one  of  the  methods  adopted  by 
the  Boers  to  show  their  contempt  for  the  British 
Government.  The  Boers  took  his  part,  and  on  the 
police  being  called  out  to  keep  order  one  of  them  fired 
a  shot,  wounding  a  policeman.  That  started  the  in- 
surrection. 

On  the  igth  the  onslaught  of  the  burghers'  force 
upon  Colonel  Anstruther  took  place  at  Bronkhorst- 
spruit,  about  forty  miles  from  the  capital,  on  the  road 
from  Lydenburg  to  Pretoria.  The  British  soldiers  were 
shot  down  in  scores,  being  for  the  most  part  practically 
unarmed   and   straggling,   little  dreaming  that  a  wily 


THE  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE  47 

enemy  was  lying  in  ambush  among  the  rocks  and  trees 
of  an  adjacent  hill.  The  commanding  officer,  Colonel 
Anstruther,  had  been  warned,  when  he  left  Middelburg, 
that  he  would  be  passing  through  an  enemy's  country ; 
but,  as  is  too  frequently  the  case  with  British  military 
officers,  he  ridiculed  the  idea  of  being  stopped  en  route, 
and  did  not  take  the  slightest  precaution.  The  con- 
sequence was  that  when  the  Boers  attacked  they  had 
it  all  their  own  way,  as  only  comparatively  few  of  the 
g4th  were  armed,  their  rifles  being  on  the  baggage- 
wagons,  and  the  ammunition  still  in  the  screwed-down 
boxes.  The  Boers,  under  Franz  Joubert,  were  skilfully 
posted  among  the  boulders  and  thorn-trees  on  the 
hillside  commanding  the  road,  and  upon  Colonel 
Anstruther  refusing  to  surrender — a  fact  which  was 
intimated  to  the  Boers  by  the  messenger  putting  his 
horse  to  gallop — a  murderous  fusillade  was  opened, 
which  placed  a  large  proportion  of  the  officers  and 
men  hors  de  combat,  and  threw  the  whole  baggage  train 
into  confusion.  Fighting  continued  only  for  a  few 
minutes.  The  news  was  brought  into  Pretoria  the 
next  morning  by  Conductor  Egerton,  who  had  obtained 
permission  from  the  Boer  Commandant  to  come  to 
Pretoria  for  medical  assistance  for  the  wounded.  He 
managed  to  secure  the  regimental  flag  about  his 
person,  and  it  was  subsequently  placed  in  charge  of 
the  2ist  Fusiliers,  in  garrison  in  Pretoria.  The  Govern- 
ment despatched  Dr.  J.  N.  Crow  to  the  assistance 
of  the  wounded  prisoners,  and  he  subsequently  accom- 
panied them  to  Heidelberg,  where  the  Boers  were  in 
undisturbed  possession. 

Dr.  Crow,  as  we  have  already  stated,  went  to  Heidel- 
berg in  charge  of  the  wounded  British  troops,  and  it 
might  have  been  supposed  that  he  would  have  been 
treated  with  respect  and  consideration  on  account  of 
his  cloth  and  mission  of  mercy ;  but  he  had  to  put  up 


48  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

with  many  indignities,  and  on  one  occasion  he  was 
assaulted  by  a  young  Boer,  who  slashed  him  with  a 
long  wagon  whip,  a  bare  apology  from  the  triumvirate, 
Paul  Kruger,  M.  W.  Pretorius,  and  P.  J.  Joubert,  being 
the  only  redress  he  received  for  the  insult,  whilst  no 
punishment  was  inflicted  on  the  aggressor. 

One  instance  of  undaunted  pluck  on  the  part  of  a 
woman  deserves  incidental  record.  It  was  during  the 
attack  upon  the  94th  that  Mrs.  Smith,  the  wife  of  the 
bandmaster,  received  a  wound  of  a  rather  serious 
character,  notwithstanding  which  she  devoted  herself 
to  the  assistance  of  the  wounded  soldiers,  and  many 
of  the  poor  fellows  who  were  disabled  that  day  owe 
their  lives  to  her  self-sacrificing  unselfishness  and 
courage.  The  honour  of  a  military  funeral  was  ac- 
corded to  her  upon  her  demise  a  few  years  ago,  and 
no  one  has  more  nobly  deserved  such  a  recognition. 

Bronkhorstspruit  was  not  a  fight,  but  a  cold-blooded 
massacre  of  British  troops  upon  territory  regarded  as 
British,  and  it  might  have  been  thought  that  this  would 
have  exacted  stern  reprisals ;  but  the  home  Govern- 
ment was  too  magnanimous  for  that,  and  the  blood  of 
our  soldiers  called  aloud  until  these  days  for  retribution. 
The  news,  brought,  as  mentioned  fcefore,  by  Conductor 
Egerton,  who  had  walked  the  distance  of  over  forty 
miles,  the  Boers  having  refused  to  give  him  a  horse,  to 
Pretoria,  was  the  first  intimation  that  hostilities  had 
broken  out.  It  speedily  spread,  and  a  considerable 
degree  of  alarm  was  manifested  when  it  was  known 
as  a  fact  that  some  600  Boers,  fully  armed  and  flushed 
with  victory,  were  within  a  day's  ride  of  the  town. 
Meetings  were  hastily  called,  and  the  military  authorities 
were  invoked  to  take  the  necessary  steps  for  defending 
the  town.  At  the  earnest  request  of  the  townspeople 
martial  law  was  proclaimed,  and  the  male  inhabitants 
almost  to  a  man  enrolled  themselves  either  as  volunteers 


THE  WAR  OF  IXDEPENDEXCE  49 

or  as  a  civil  guard.  The  volunteers  were  armed  with 
rifles  which  had  seen  their  best  days,  and  were  formed 
into  companies  under  their  own  officers  and  Major  Le 
Mesurier,  of  the  Royal  Engineers. 

The  opinion  of  the  military  authorities  was  that  the 
town  was  not  capable  of  being  defended  by  so  small  a 
garrison,  and  the  women  and  children  w^ere  established 
in  tents,  waggons,  and  bungalows  at  the  camp,  whilst 
the  volunteers  w^ere  quartered  in  a  laager  between  the 
convent  and  the  gaol.  These  volunteers  were  at  once 
employed  in  preparing  defences,  and  a  large  party  were 
engaged  in  digging  a  trench  round  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  in  Church  Square.  After  it  was  completed  and 
a  couple  of  mitrailleuses  mounted,  it  was  decided  by  the 
military  authorities  that  it  was  not  tenable,  and  the  trench 
was  filled  up.  The  next  thing  done  was  to  enclose  the 
space  between  the  convent  buildings  and  the  gaol,  both 
of  which  exist  to  the  present  day.  A  double  plank  wall 
was  erected,  with  a  space  of  18  inches  between,  which 
was  filled  up  with  the  earth  dug  out  of  the  trench  at 
the  foot  of  the  wall.  This  made  a  fairly  good  pro- 
tection against  the  bullets  of  the  enemy,  while  on  the 
other  side  casks  filled  with  soil,  with  sand-bags  to  the 
height  of  about  5  feet,  constituted  our  western  defences. 
The  space  thus  enclosed  afforded  sufficient  room  for  a 
camp  of  about  600  men,  with  commissariat  offices  and 
an  exercising-ground,  and  so  long  as  the  weather  was 
fine  no  great  inconvenience  was  felt  by  the  volunteers  in 
their  unaccustomed  quarters.  The  convent  was  used 
in  part  as  a  hospital  for  sick  women,  the  men  who 
were  wounded  or  sick  being  accommodated  at  the 
main  camp,  with  Dr.  Skeene  as  chief  medical  officer. 
Upon  the  whole  the  two  camps  were  remarkably 
healthy.  Very  few  deaths  occurred  from  the  diseases 
usually  experienced  when  large  numbers  are  cooped  up 
in  a  limited  area.     We  had,  however,  no  occasion  for 

4 


50  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

the  defences  we  had  made,  as  the  Boers  refrained 
from  attacking  the  town,  although  on  two  or  three 
occasions  some  of  their  scouts  audaciously  ventured  so 
far  in  as  the  portion  now  known  as  Sunnyside  ;  but 
a  shell  from  the  gun  mounted  on  Time  Ball  Hill 
sufficed  to  send  them  off  helter-skelter. 

The  first  warlike  incident  which  took  place  about 
Pretoria  was  a  foraging  expedition  to  a  farm  belonging 
to  H,  Schoeman  a  few  miles  from  the  town.  The 
party  was  led  by  Mr.  Surveyor  Anderson,  and  suc- 
ceeded in  driving  off  a  considerable  number  of  cattle 
and  about  800  sheep,  which  were  safely  brought  into 
town.  They  were  not  destined  to  remain  there  long, 
for  the  late  owner  came  in,  and,  protesting  his  loyalty, 
managed  to  bamboozle  the  military  authorities  into 
restitution.  This  result  gave  great  dissatisfaction,  and 
damped  the  spirits  of  the  volunteers  very  seriously. 
The  seizure  of  cattle  and  live  stock  is  a  universal 
feature  of  Boer  warfare,  and  the  only  way  of  bringing 
the  enemy  to  book  was  to  deprive  him  of  his  cattle. 
We  hear  a  good  deal  nowadays  of  fighting  the  Boer 
with  Boer  tactics  and  beating  him  at  that,  and  possibly 
our  military  men  have  learned  a  lesson  from  the  enemy. 
Anyhow,  it  is  satisfactory  to  note  that,  notwithstanding 
the  yelping  of  the  Africander  press,  when  captures  of 
live  stock  or  wagons  have  been  made,  no  prayer  for 
restitution  has  been  listened  to  by  the  military  authori- 
ties as  in  the  past.  After  that  time  we  never  had  another 
chance  of  replenishing  our  larder,  and  regretted  bitterly, 
when  we  came  down  to  half-rations,  that  our  military 
officers  had  been  so  fatuously  generous.  Mr.  Hendrik 
Schoeman  has  since  shown  no  sense  of  gratitude  ;  he  is 
one  of  the  most  violent  exponents  of  race  hatred  in 
the  Transvaal,  and  in  his  lack  of  veracity  and  gratitude 
for  favours  received  he  is  indeed  a  typical  Boer. 

The  little  fight  at  Swartkopjes  was  the  first  engage- 


THE  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE  51 

ment  breaking  the  monotony  of  life  in  the  convent 
laager.  The  detachment  engaged  upon  that  occasion 
was  partly  military  and  partly  '  Our  Boys,'  a  mounted 
corps  of  young  fellows  formed  in  Pretoria.  For  all 
of  these  this  was  their  baptism  of  fire,  and  right 
well  they  came  through  the  ceremony.  It  was  here 
that  the  first  exhibition  of  Boer  treachery  was  made 
by  the  holding  up  the  white  flag  as  a  decoy  to  our 
men.  The  symbol  of  surrender  was  used  to  trick  the 
British  into  leaving  cover,  when  a  fierce  fusillade  was 
opened  upon  them,  and  the  sergeant  who  was  sent 
forward  to  parley  was  wounded  severely  by  the  Boer 
bullets.  The  trick  was  repeated  again  a  little  later, 
but  as  the  order  was  given  by  the  officer  in  command 
for  the  men  to  keep  cover,  no  harm  came  of  it,  and 
firing  was  resumed  on  both  sides.  The  result  of  the 
action  was  that  the  kopje  was  stormed  and  about  four- 
teen prisoners  taken,  whilst  the  wagons  belonging  to 
the  Boers  were  blown  up. 

The  Boer  Commandant,  old  Hans  Botha,  was  taken 
prisoner  after  he  had  received  five  wounds  from  bullets; 
he  was  brought  to  the  military  hospital,  and  received 
much  kindness.  When  asked,  after  he  had  recovered, 
if  he  had  any  complaints  to  make,  he  said  the  only 
thing  he  objected  to  was  the  frequency  of  the  wash- 
ings he  had  to  undergo. 

In  the  next  skirmish  at  Red  House  Kraal  the  Boers, 
after  firing  upon  it  and  again  wounding  one  or  two  of 
our  men,  captured  the  British  ambulance,  in  which  were 
some  wounded.  The  military  authorities  demanded 
the  restoration  of  the  ambulance,  but  its  captors  would 
not  yield  unless  the  fourteen  prisoners  taken  at  Swart- 
kopjes  were  exchanged.  This  was  done,  and  the 
ambulance  was  brought  into  camp,  but  it  was  found 
that  two  of  its  occupants,  who  had  been  wounded  a 
second  time  whilst  in  the  ambulance,  were  in  a  most 

4—2 


52  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

dangerous  condition,  and,  notwithstanding  all  the  care 
that  was  bestowed  upon  them,  they  eventually  died, 
victims  to  Boer  treachery  and  neglect. 

We  took  very  few  prisoners  after  the  first  encounter 
with  the  rebels,  for  there  did  not  seem  to  be  any  very 
ardent  wish  on  the  part  of  the  military  to  come  to 
close  quarters  with  the  besiegers,  although,  according 
to  all  accounts,  the  troops  and  armed  civilians  in  the 
camp  far  exceeded  in  number  the  besieging  force.  In 
point  of  fact,  it  came  to  be  believed  that  the  Pretoria 
garrison  was  restrained  from  action  by  some  secret 
influence,  otherwise  it  is  difficult  to  account  for  the 
inactivity  which  prevailed  during  the  three  months  that 
the  investment  continued.  Lieutenant-General  Bellairs 
could  hardly  be  regarded  as  wanting  in  stamina  or 
experience,  seeing  that  he  had  obtained  the  V.C.  for  an 
act  of  bravery,  and  Colonel  Gildea,  the  second  in  com- 
mand, was  an  officer  not  wanting  in  distinction.  In 
the  course  of  the  siege  several  sorties  were  made,  but 
in  no  instance  with  adequate  success. 

In  a  second  attack  upon  Red  House  Kraal,  just 
beyond  Six  Mile  Spruit,  some  hundreds  of  troops  were 
sent  forward  to  attack  the  main  Boer  laager.  The 
soldiers  and  volunteers  were  conveyed  by  mule-wagon 
to  within  a  mile  of  the  point  of  attack  during  the  early 
hours  of  a  brilliant  moonlight  night.  The  noise  of  the 
wagons  and  the  objurgations  of  the  mule-drivers  were 
sufficient  in  the  calm  and  stillness  of  the  night  to 
awaken  the  Seven  Sleepers.  Arrived  at  the  crest  of  the 
hill  overlooking  the  position  to  be  taken,  a  mounted 
detachment  of  the  volunteers  was  sent  forward  to  a 
house  in  the  valley  below ;  there  they  found  the  Boer 
outpost  vacated,  and  returned  to  report,  burdened  wdth 
blankets  and  pillows  as  the  spoils  of  war,  but  without  a 
prisoner.  An  advance  was  made  to  the  supposed  Laager 
by  Nourse's  Horse,  and  firing  speedily  became  brisk. 


THE  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE  53 

With  the  dawn  could  be  seen  a  scattered  force  of 
Boers,  under  cover  of  the  mimosa-trees,  sheltering  the 
main  camp,  which  was  under  the  other  side  of  a  low 
hill.  Notwithstanding  the  heavy  and  continuous  firing, 
but  few  casualties  occurred  on  our  side,  until  Colonel 
Gildea  was  wounded,  and  General  Bellairs  gave  orders 
to  retire,  greatly  to  the  disgust  of  the  unmounted 
volunteer  force,  who  had  not  the  chance  of  firing  a 
shot.  During  this  brush  with  the  enemy  two  wagon- 
loads  of  soldiers  —  about  fifty  men  —  never  left  the 
wagons,  but  as  they  were  in  the  line  of  fire  they  did 
not  escape  scatheless,  one  being  so  severely  wounded 
as  to  succumb  shortly  after  returning  to  camp,  whilst 
another  had  a  broken  limb.  As  we  had  a  couple  of 
9-pounder  guns  in  action,  and  as  there  was  no  great 
disparity  between  the  number  of  the  Boers  and  our 
forces,  much  discontent  was  felt  by  the  volunteers  at 
the  retreat,  and  harsh  comments  were  passed  upon  the 
military  leader  who  had  planned  the  operations. 

At  Elandsfontein  similar  mismanagement  took  place. 
A  squadron  of  Nourse's  Horse  had  gained  their  way, 
inch  by  inch,  on  the  ridges  until  the  Boer  laager  was 
discovered  within  easy  distance  of  cannon-shot.  Cap- 
tain Nourse  sent  messengers  twice  or  thrice  to  General 
Bellairs,  asking  him  to  send  a  gun  to  his  assistance, 
but  it  was  refused,  and  the  exertions  of  Nourse  and 
'  Our  Boys '  were  fruitless.  Captain  Sanctuary,  who 
was  posted  on  a  kopje  with  a  small  detachment  of 
mounted  men,  was  more  than  once  ordered  to  evacuate 
it ;  but  knowing  the  importance  of  the  position,  he 
refused  to  do  so  until  he  got  peremptory  orders.  He 
had  scarcely  reached  the  plain  below  when  the  position 
was  taken  up  by  the  Boers,  who  were  thus  enabled  to 
threaten  our  retreat  on  Pretoria.  We  had  left  camp 
at  about  2  a.m.  in  wagons,  and  arrived  at  Elandsfontein, 
where  the  Boers  were  encamped,  at  daybreak.     About 


54  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

fifty  men  of  the  Volunteer  Rifle  Corps  were  ordered  to 
take  up  a  position  on  a  low  hill  commanding  Quagga's 
Poort,  and  to  make  such  preparations  for  defence  as 
circumstances  permitted.  The  men  were  unprovided 
with  tools,  or  even  food,  and  had  to  '  lug  out '  the 
half-embedded  stones  upon  the  hillside  with  their  bare 
fingers,  in  order  to  construct  a  breastwork  upon  the 
exposed  sides  of  the  hill.  Whilst  engaged  in  this,  a 
party  of  200  Boers  suddenly  arrived  at  the  Poort,  and 
discovering  that  the  hill  was  already  occupied,  after  a 
hurried  discussion,  fortunately  decided  to  join  their 
friends  who  were  fighting  about  one  and  a  half  miles 
away.  On  their  arrival  at  the  scene  of  action  the  firing 
was  very  heavy  for  a  short  time,  and  was  punctuated 
by  occasional  booms  from  the  g-pounder.  Very  soon 
the  order  was  given  to  retire,  and,  covered  by  the  guns, 
the  retreat  was  safely  effected,  although  the  wounded 
had  occasion  to  remember  the  day  from  the  bruises 
inflicted  by  the  jolting  of  the  mule-wagons,  which  were 
driven  over  ant-heaps  and  stones  by  the  nearest  route  to 
the  camp,  utterly  regardless  of  the  suffering  humanity 
with  which  they  were  laden. 

These  and  two  or  three  other  little  skirmishes  were 
all  the  serious  diversions  that  we  had  when  in  camp. 
There  were  also  some  frivolities,  such  as  concerts 
and  theatrical  performances  and  the  weekly  excitement 
caused  by  the  publication  of  the  News  of  the  Camp, 
which  was  edited  by  the  clever  monologue  enter- 
tainer, the  late  Charles  Duval.  That  publication  was 
far  too  much  under  censorship  to  be  of  much  value 
as  a  record  of  events  in  which  the  military  authorities 
played  a  prominent  part. 

Camp  gossip  supplied  the  place  of  authentic  news  as 
to  what  was  going  on  in  the  outer  world,  and  the  most 
extravagant  romances  formed  staple  sustenance  for  the 
quidnuncs.     The   approach  of  relief  for  the  garrison 


THE  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE  55 

formed  the  chief  burden  of  the  stories  in  circulation. 
Colley  was  reported  to  be  within  striking  distance 
several  times,  and  so  circumstantial  were  some  of  the 
stories  that  people  began  to  believe  there  was  some- 
thing in  them.  Towards  the  end  of  February,  1881, 
a  rumour  suddenly  arose  that  events  were  not  going  on 
so  well  in  Natal  as  was  hoped,  but  still  no  one  seemed 
to  beheve  that  there  had  been  disaster.  As  usual,  the 
Dutch  Boers  who  were  in  camp,  and  who  were  regarded 
as  loyal,  were  the  first  to  get  news  of  British  reverses, 
and  the  disheartening  rumours  that  filled  the  air  were 
undoubtedly  founded  on  news  which  had  mysteriously 
reached  them.  A  few  days  later  a  despatch  was  received 
from  the  Boer  Commandant  telling  of  the  tragedy  of 
Majuba,  and  further  stating  that  negotiations  for  the 
conclusion  of  a  peace  were  being  carried  on  in  Natal. 
This  news  was  further  confirmed  a  day  or  two  after  by 
the  advent  of  a  couple  of  British  officers  who  brought 
despatches  for  Sir  O.  Lanyon  and  General  Bellairs, 
giving  particulars  as  to  the  position  of  affairs. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  an  adequate  idea  of  the  wrath 
and  indignation  felt  by  the  people  at  this  fearful  news. 
Men  swore,  and  heartfelt  curses  fell  upon  Mr.  Gladstone 
and  the  craven  British  Ministry  of  which  he  was  the 
head.  Women  raved  and  shed  tears  of  sorrow,  humi- 
liation, and  disgust,  that  all  the  sacrifices  they  had 
made,  all  the  hardships  that  they  and  their  children 
had  endured  with  cheerfulness,  should  have  been  entirely 
wasted.  For  the  sake  of  their  loyalty  and  country  they 
would  willingly  have  undergone  privations  for  another 
three  months  if  that  disgrace  could  have  been  averted 
(see  Appendix  G).  But  cries  and  tears  availed  nothing, 
and  they  had  the  additional  pang  of  seeing  Boers 
riding  through  the  grass-grown  streets  of  Pretoria 
with  soldiers'  coats  for  saddle-cloths,  and  armed  with 
guns  taken  from  our  slain  countrymen.     The  feelings 


56  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

of  these  poor  people  on  their  betrayal   could  only  be 
expressed,   emblematically,   by  the   public   burning   of 
Mr.    Gladstone's   effigy   upon    the    Church    Square    in 
Pretoria,  by  indignant  orations,  and  other  futile  means 
of  expressing  popular  sentiment.    The  British  residents 
were  powerless  to  adopt  stronger  measures,  and  were 
obliged  to  make  the  best  of  the  situation.     One  very 
remarkable  and,   we  believe,   unique  manifestation   of 
popular  sentiment  took  place  on  August  2,  1881,  when 
the  majority  of  the  English   inhabitants  of   Pretoria 
assembled  to  witness  the  burial  of  their  beloved  Union 
Jack,  which  hitherto  had  been  regarded  as  the  champion 
of  the  distressed,  and  a  stanch  protector  of  the  rights 
and  liberties  of  the  British  race  wherever  threatened. 
The  pusillanimous  betrayal  of  all  traditions,  of  national 
honour,   and   of  the   rights   of   Englishmen,   this   base 
withdrawal   of  the   statements   made   not   only  by  the 
British  authorities  in  the  Transvaal,  but  by  Mr.  Glad- 
stone himself,  was  a  crowning  infamy  which  could  not 
be  passed  over  without  some  kind  of  remonstrance  from 
the  victims  of  Ministerial  treachery.    The  solemn  burial 
of  the  British  flag  was  decided  upon  as  being  likely  to 
live  in  the  remembrance  of  those  who  had  been  betrayed 
and  sold  by  the  Government  over  which  Mr.  Gladstone 
was  chief.    The  time  chosen  for  the  display  of  indignant 
popular  feeling  was  when  the   Convention  was  being 
signed  by  Her  Majesty's  Commissioner,  Sir  Hercules 
Robinson     (afterwards    Lord    Rosmead),    Sir    Evelyn 
Wood,  and  Sir  H.  de  Villiers,  at  present  Chief  Justice 
of  the   Cape  Colony  ;    and  the  representatives  of  the 
burghers — S.  J.  P.  Kruger,  P.  J.  Joubert,  and  M.  W. 
Pretorius,  the  rebel  triumvirate.     The   signing  of  the 
Convention    took    place    in    a   room    in    the    Govern- 
ment House  (Ulundi  House),  and  the  grave  was  dug 
in  the  corner  of  an  erf  which  was  in  full  view  of  the 
window  of  the  room  where  the  abomination  was  com- 


THE  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE  57 

pleted.  The  mournful  procession  started  from  the 
Church  Square,  Pretoria,  and  wended  its  way  through 
the  streets  until  its  destination  was  reached.  The  flag 
was  enclosed  in  a  coffin  and  carried  on  a  wagonette 
draped  with  black.  About  600  British  subjects  and 
200  Kaffirs  under  the  Chief  Zwaartbooi  followed  the 
disgraced  flag  to  its  tomb.  The  natives  of  the  Transvaal 
were  as  completely  betrayed  as  the  whites,  and  felt  the 
degradation  of  being  handed  over  to  the  Boers,  as  they 
expressed  it,  '  like  a  bit  of  tobacco,'  considering  them- 
selves as  equally  entitled  to  join  the  protest  as  the 
Britons.  Arrived  at  the  grave,  the  coffin  containing 
the  flag  was  lowered  with  due  solemnity  into  the  re- 
ceptacle prepared  for  it,  and  a  tombstone  was  placed 
at  the  head  of  it  on  which  was  the  following  inscrip- 
tion : 

'  In  Loving  Memory 

of  the 

British  Flag  in  the  Transvaal, 

who  departed  this  life 

on  August  2,  1 88 1, 

in  his  fifth  year. 


"  In  other  climes  none  know  thee  but  to  love  thee." 
"  Resurgam." ' 

An  eloquent  funeral  oration  was  delivered  by  Mr.  John 
Munro,  which  met  with  hearty  acceptance  by  the 
hundreds  assembled  to  witness  the  obsequies,  and  the 
last  rites  having  been  observed,  the  crowd  dispersed 
in  an  orderly  and  serious  manner.  During  the  follow- 
ing night,  however,  the  grave  was  rifled  and  the  tomb- 
stone taken  away  by  some  persons  unknown.  The 
coffin  was  found  ne.xt  morning  elevated  upon  a  flagstaff, 
but  inquiry  proved  vain  in  discovering  the  culprit.  It 
has   been    asserted   that    Colonel  Gildea,   who  was  in 


S8  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

command  of  the  troops  stationed  at  Pretoria,  '  knew 
something  about  the  matter,'  because  a  relation  of  his 
has,  since  the  death  of  that  officer,  asserted  that  the 
flag  was  in  his  possession.  Be  that  as  it  may,  the 
tombstone  was  found  and  taken  care  of  religiously, 
and  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  even  now  in 
safe  keeping  in  Pretoria.  Some  years  after  the  retro- 
cession it  was  seen  by  the  present  writer  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  late  Mr.  Jones.  After  his  death,  his  property 
being  dispersed,  the  historic  tombstone  was  lost  sight 
of.  But  it  probably  still  is  in  existence,  and  the  prophecy 
conveyed  in  the  word  '  Resurgam '  will  soon  receive  its 
fulfilment  by  the  establishment  of  British  supremacy 
under  the  old  flag  throughout  South  Africa. 

In  our  brief  account  of  the  siege  of  Pretoria  we  have 
taken  no  notice  of  the  beleaguered  towns  and  villages 
in  other  parts  of  the  country.  The  small  garrisons  of 
British  troops  and  Loyalists  who  fled  to  the  military 
stations  for  protection  exhibited  an  admirable  degree  of 
endurance  and  courage. 

The  small  fort  at  Lydenburg  was  invested  by  a  Boer 
host  acting  under  the  advice  of  the  notorious  Fenian, 
Aylward,  but  the  little  garrison  held  out  until  the 
declaration  of  peace.  It  was  reported,  on  very  excellent 
authority,  that  the  defence  was  mainly  attributable  to  the 
courage  of  Mrs.  Long,  the  wife  of  Lieut.  Long,  who  was 
in  command  of  the  detachment  of  the  g4th  at  that  place. 
When  the  men  lost  heart,  her  voice  encouraged  and 
stimulated  them  to  further  exertions,  and  her  indomit- 
able spirit  surmounted  all  the  difficulties  and  hardships 
attendant  upon  the  defence  of  the  fort,  ill-provided 
though  it  was  with  means  of  holding  out  successfully 
for  three  weary  months.  Mention  is  due  also  in  terms 
of  the  highest  admiration  of  the  name  of  the  Rev. 
Father  Walsh,  who  united  in  himself  the  best  features 
of  a  servant  of  God  and  the  qualities  of  a  good  and 


THE  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE  59 

faithful  soldier.  He  has  since  passed  away,  and  was 
followed  to  his  grave  at  Kimberley  by  a  large  gathering 
of  persons  of  all  grades  of  society  and  shades  of 
religious  opinion. 

During  the  siege  of  Lydenburg  the  murder  of 
Mr.  Green  took  place  under  circumstances  of  gross 
treachery,  which  yet  requires  expiation.  The  present 
writer  endeavoured  in  vain  to  bring  about  the  punish- 
ment of  his  murderers  after  the  conclusion  of  peace. 

At  Potchefstroom  Captain  Marshall  Clark  and  Cap- 
tain Raaf  took  possession  of  the  Landdrost's  Court, 
and  did  all  they  could  to  put  it  in  a  state  of  defence 
from  the  Boer  attack  which  followed.  Shortly  after- 
wards Captain  Falls  was  shot  dead,  while  several 
others  were  wounded  ;  and  when  it  was  discovered  that 
the  Boers  were  preparing  to  set  the  thatched  roof  of 
the  building  on  lire,  Captain  Clark  decided  that  resist- 
ance would  be  useless,  and  he  and  his  companions 
surrendered,  and  were  the  hrst  prisoners  of  war. 

In  the  meantime  Colonel  Winsloe  had  hastily  con- 
structed a  fort,  25  yards  square,  which  was  destined  to 
afford  shelter  for  him  and  his  small  company  of  soldiers, 
with  the  additional  burden  of  several  ladies  and  children 
who  sought  protection  under  the  British  flag.  He  and 
his  force  successfully  defied  the  efforts  of  the  Boer 
forces  from  the  end  of  December  to  the  middle  of 
March  in  the  following  year.  They  were  reduced  to  a 
diet  of  half-rotten  maize  before  they  were  induced  to 
surrender  to  the  treacherous  Cronje,  and  even  then 
they  marched  out  with  the  honours  of  war.  This  is 
the  man  who  was  in  command  of  the  Boer  forces 
around  Kimberley,  and  previously  about  Mafeking, 
who  withheld  from  Colonel  Winsloe  the  fact  of  an 
armistice  having  been  agreed  upon  with  a  view  to  the 
re-establishment  of  peace,  and  who  refused  to  permit 
the  revictualling  of  the  fort  with  a  week's  provisions, 


6o  THE, RISE  AND  FALL  OF   KRUGERLSM 

although  he  was  fully  aware  that  that  was  one  of  the 
conditions  of  the  armistice.  It  was  he  who  behaved  so 
disgracefully  at  Potchefstroom  as  to  render  it  necessary 
for  Sir  Evelyn  Wood  to  reoccupy  the  town  and 
demand  the  surrender  of  the  two  guns  which  had  been 
given  up  by  Colonel  Winsloe.  This  Cronje  is  the  same 
man  who  guaranteed  the  lives  of  Dr.  Jameson  and  his 
companions  in  the  ill-fated  and  mischievous  Raid,  and 
who  tried  subsequently  to  read  fraudulent  conditions 
into  the  terms  of  surrender,  though  he  was  happily 
foiled  by  his  inability  to  put  into  writing  the  ambiguity 
which  he  evidently  thought  might  nullify  a  conditional 
surrender.  This  same  Cronje  refused  at  Potchefstroom 
to  permit  sick  and  dying  women  to  leave  the  fort,  and 
compelled  the  prisoners  of  war  in  his  hands  to  work  in 
the  trenches  he  was  digging  around  the  brave  little 
garrison  he  hoped  to  capture.  He  connived  at  the 
shooting,  under  the  pretext  of  their  being  spies,  of 
Dr.  Waite,  Van  der  Linden,  Carolus,  and  others, 
though  he  knew  that  they  had  done  nothing  to  merit 
death.  And  this  same  Cronje  was  accorded  military 
honour  and  courtesy  when  he  in  turn  had  to  surrender 
to  Lord  Roberts  ! 

There  is  no  proof  that  Mr.  Kruger  and  the  other 
chiefs  of  the  movement  had  any  complicity  in  these 
outrages  ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  evidence 
that  they  endeavoured  to  restrain  the  burghers  in 
their  inhuman  practices.  Of  these  there  was  an  abun- 
dance. 

A  most  horrible  murder  of  a  mason  named  Malcolm 
took  place  at  Mulder's  Drift,  where  the  victim  was 
kicked  to  death,  and  in  order  to  save  appearances  a 
bullet  was  put  through  his  head. 

But  the  most  scandalous  business  was  the  treacherous 
killing  of  Captain  Elliot,  who  was  provided  with  a  safe 
conduct  to    the    Free   State,   together   with    his   com- 


THE  WAR  OF  INDEPENDENCE  6i 

panion,  Captain  Lambert.  Those  who  have  read 
Rider  Haggard's  story  of  '  Jess '  will  find  in  those 
pages  an  incident  founded  upon  the  treachery  shown 
to  these  officers.  Captain  Elliot  was  driven  into  the 
Vaal  River,  and  there  killed  by  a  volley  fired  by  the 
men  who  were  charged  with  his  safe  conduct  over  the 
border.  His  companion  fortunately  escaped  unwounded 
by  swimming  across  the  flooded  river  to  the  Free  State. 
A  short  time  afterwards  the  body  of  Captain  Elliot  was 
recovered,  and  temporarily  interred  on  the  bank  of  the 
Vaal  River.  Eventually  his  remains  were  brought  to 
Pretoria,  and  used  as  evidence  upon  the  trial  of  his 
murderers,  and  finally  found  a  resting-place  in  the 
military  cemetery  there. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE    RETROCESSION 

Mr.  Paul  Kruger  having  become  the  principal  in 
the  rebellion  against  Her  Majesty's  authority  in  the 
Transvaal,  notwithstanding  the  oath  of  allegiance 
which  he  took  as  salaried  member  of  the  Executive 
of  which  Sir  T.  Shepstone  was  the  chief,  was 
acknowledged  by  the  Peace  Commission  as  the 
proper  person  to  deal  with  in  the  negotiations  for 
the  cessation  of  hostilities  which  followed  upon  the 
disastrous  battle  of  Majuba.  The  other  members  of 
the  Boer  triumvirate  played  but  a  subordinate  part  in 
that  transaction,  although  the  victory  was  gained  by 
the  Boer  forces  under  General  Joubert,  who  had,  at 
all  events,  not  added  the  crime  of  perjury  to  treason. 
Neither  he  nor  Mr.  Pretorius,  whose  level-headed  and 
native  gentleness  fitted  him  for  the  part  of  mediator, 
had  much  voice  in  the  settlement  which  was  con- 
cluded. The  fact  of  the  matter  was  that  the  home 
Government  was  tired  of  the  war,  and  Mr.  Gladstone, 
who  had  gone  back  upon  his  own  specific  declarations 
with  regard  to  the  cession  of  the  Transvaal  to  the 
Boers,  had  a  sudden  qualm  of  conscience  as  to  the 
'  blood-guiltiness  '  of  the  action  he  had  countenanced. 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  explicit  instructions 
had  been  issued  to  the  military  authorities  to  cease  from 
further  hostilities,  and  to  negotiate  for  peace  at  almost 


THE  RETROCESSION  63 

any  price.  It  was  nothing  that  the  Boers  were 
rebels  against  the  Queen,  or  that  they  had  invaded 
British  territory,  had  slain  the  Queen's  troops  and 
had  harassed  the  Queen's  subjects  in  Natal.  Mr. 
Gladstone  was  so  anxious  to  come  to  a  settlement, 
that  no  condition  was  made  that  the  Boers  should 
retire  within  their  own  borders  before  making  arrange- 
ments for  the  cessation  of  war.  The  preliminaries  for 
a  settlement  were  arranged  and  signed  at  a  farm  some 
fourteen  miles  within  the  Natal  border,  under  the 
shade  of  the  Majuba  mountain,  where  the  luckless 
Sir  George  Colley  was  shot  whilst  holding  up  his 
handkerchief  as  a  sign  of  surrender.* 

One  of  the  conditions  included  in  the  terms  of  the 
armistice  was  that  all  persons  who  had  been  guilty  of 
usages  contrary  to  the  customs  of  civilized  war  should 
as  speedily  as  possible  be  brought  to  trial  by  the 
British  authorities,  who  remained  in  possession  until 
the  Convention  of  Pretoria  had  been  ratified  by  the 
Volksraad,  the  Boer  leaders  giving  their  full  assistance  to 
secure  the  punishment  of  the  guilty.  How  inadequately 
this  condition  was  fulfilled  may  be  gathered  from  the 
records  of  the  High  Court  at  Pretoria.  The  Transvaal 
Argus  at  that  time  was  under  the  control  of  the  present 
writer,  and  as  no  steps  appeared  to  be  contemplated 
by  the  British  authorities  to  bring  certain  alleged 
murderers  to  justice,  he  published  in  every  issue  of 
the  paper  the  clause  in  the  armistice  relating  to  the 
punishment  of  persons  guilty  of  contravening  the 
usages  of  war,  by  the  commission  of  murders  upon 
British  subjects.  After  some  weeks  this  persistency 
was  rewarded  by  the  assurance  of  the  Attorney- 
General  (Mr,  Morcom)  that  steps  had  been  taken  to 

*  His  ivory-handled  pistol  is  at  present  in  the  possession  of  the 
late  General  Smit's  family  at  Pretoria. 


64  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

bring  certain  persons  to  trial,  who  were  alleged  to 
be  particeps  criminis  in  the  murder  of  Captain  Elliot. 
The  trial  eventually  took  place  before  Chief  Justice 
de  Wet  and  a  Boer  jury,  with  the  result  that  the 
prisoners  were  acquitted.  Another  case  was  tried 
with  a  similar  result,  when  the  Attorney-General  of 
the  Transvaal  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  use- 
less to  continue  the  prosecution  of  other  accused 
persons  by  juries  ignorant  of  the  usages  of  civilized 
war,  and  who,  moreover,  regarded  the  killing  of  an 
Englishman,  whom  they  looked  upon  as  an  enemy,  as 
perfectly  legitimate  under  any  circumstances.  That 
that  feeling  has  not  died  out  amongst  the  majority  of 
the  ignorant  and  prejudiced  burghers  may  be  illus- 
trated by  an  incident  of  which  the  writer  has  personal 
knowledge.  A  back-country  Boer  was  lamenting  the 
scarcity  of  horses,  and  the  difficulty  which  the  poorer 
class  found  in  obtaining  them,  and  he  concluded  with 
the  hope  that  there  would  be  war  with  the  English,  as 
they  had  beautiful  animals,  and  he  and  his  little  son 
Piet,  who  could  already  shoot  nicely,  would  be  able  to 
get  them  from  the  rooineks  by  the  simple  process  of 
shooting  their  owners.  Upon  it  being  suggested  that 
war  was  not  usually  made  for  the  purpose  of  obtaining 
horseflesh  from  the  enemy,  and  that  killing  a  man  for 
the  sake  of  his  beast  was  something  like  murder,  the 
reply  was,  '  But  he  is  onl}'  an  Englishman,'  which  was 
held  by  the  Boer  to  clinch  the  argument.  With  such 
views  in  their  minds  the  Boers  obviously  look  upon  the 
life  of  an  Englishman  as  being  of  the  same  value  as 
that  of  a  native,  which  is  really  next  to  nothing.  This 
is  illustrated  by  the  following  occurrence : 

One  of  the  Boer  prisoners  of  war  now  enjoying  en- 
forced idleness  at  St.  Helena  has  two  sons,  youths 
about  fourteen  to  sixteen  years  old.  These  two  pro- 
mising youths  were  out  shooting  in  the  Zoutpansburg 


THE  RETROCESSION  65 

district  one  day,  when  they  encountered  two  Kaffir 
girls,  who  fled  at  their  approach.  The  boys  called 
upon  them  to  stop,  but  as  they  did  not  do  so  they 
were  summarily  shot,  one  girl  being  killed  outright, 
and  the  other  severely  wounded.  Although  attention 
was  called  to  this  brutality  by  the  Transvaal  Advertiser, 
not  the  slightest  notice  was  taken  by  the  authorities,  it 
being  allowed  to  pass  as  the  usual  *  accident.' 

As  another  illustration,  we  cite  the  following  in- 
cident : 

A  near  connection  of  the  President's  family  was 
arrested,  during  the  Annexation  period,  upon  the 
charge  of  having  murdered  a  Kaffir  herd  by  placing 
the  unfortunate  boy's  head  between  his  knees  and 
twisting  his  body  in  such  a  manner  as  to  dislocate  his 
neck,  thus  causing  instant  death.  The  accused  was 
tried,  and  a  Boer  jury  found  him  guilty  of  a  common 
assault,  and  a  few  months'  imprisonment  was  all  the 
punishment  he  received  for  his  cruelty. 

These  instances  of  brutality  serve  to  show  that  Boer 
ideas  are  very  little  advanced  from  the  Stone  Age 
period,  and  that  they  have  yet  to  learn  the  lesson  that 
impunity  in  the  past  will  not  shield  them  from  the 
consequences  of  unlawful  acts  in  the  near  future.  And 
to  accomplish  that,  the  reign  of  wholesale  corruption 
and  general  demoralization  established  under  the 
Krugerian  autocracy  must  at  once  and  for  ever  be 
eliminated  from  their  system  of  government. 

As  a  result  of  the  armistice,  a  Royal  Commission 
was  appointed  to  draw  up  a  Convention  between  Her 
Majesty  and  the  Transvaal  Republic,  and  that  docu- 
ment was  signed  at  Pretoria  under  the  circumstances 
to  which  we  have  alluded.  It  was  ratified  by  a  special 
session  of  the  Volksraad  at  almost  the  last  hour,  and 
with  expressions  of  opinion  which  promised  but  little 
for  the  honourable   observance  of  its  conditions.     It 

5 


66  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

was  not  long;  after  the  formal  and  solemn  agreement 
was  entered  into  that  renewed  efforts  were  made  to 
inflame  the  minds  of  the  burghers,  and  petitions  were 
got  up  praying  for  other  terms,  and  specially  directed 
towards  the  abolition  of  the  suzerainty  of  Her  Majesty 
over  the  Transvaal.  It  was  decided  to  send  a  deputa- 
tion to  London  to  press  the  British  Ministry  for  better 
terms,  it  being  held  that  the  burghers  had  not  been 
conquered  by  the  British,  but  the  reverse,  and  that 
they  as  victors  had  the  right  to  dictate  terms.  Barely 
two  years  after  the  Convention  of  Pretoria  was  signed, 
a  deputation,  consisting  of  Paul  Kruger,  Rev.  S.  J. 
du  Toit,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Africander  Bond, 
and  General  Smit,  was  deputed  to  interview  the  Im- 
perial Government,  with  the  object  of  getting  the 
Convention  set  aside,  and  the  country  more  fully 
placed  beyond  the  sphere  of  British  influence.  On 
this  occasion  they  were  assisted  by  that  brilliant 
political  adventurer,  Mr.  Ewald  Esselen,  who  used  all 
his  energies  and  his  dialectic  skill  in  the  endeavour  to 
completely  isolate  the  Transvaal  as  regards  its  con- 
nection with  England.  To  a  certain  extent  they  were 
successful  with  the  British  Government,  and  a  new 
Convention  was  signed  in  February,  1884,  generally 
known  as  the  Convention  of  London.  By  this  docu- 
ment formal  mention  of  the  suzerainty  which  in  the 
previous  Convention  formed  an  important  section  of 
the  preamble  was  omitted,  but  the  section  which  gave 
Her  Majesty  the  right  to  control  the  conclusion  of 
treaties  with  foreign  States  was  maintained.  An  un- 
fortunate reliance  upon  the  good  faith  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  the  Transvaal  prompted  the  Colonial  Secretary, 
Lord  Derby,  and  the  Government  to  consent  to  the 
making  of  treaties  with  the  Orange  Free  State  without 
their  being  subject  to  the  supervision  or  approval  of 
Her  Majesty,  as  in  the  case  of  treaties  with  foreign 


THE   RETROCESSION  67 

Powers.  It  was  probably  thought  that  as  the  Orange 
Free  State  was  on  friendly  terms  with  the  adjacent 
British  colonies,  conducting  its  business  mainly  through 
the  agency  of  mercantile  firms  in  the  maritime  towns, 
and  believing  that  under  the  judicious  government  of 
their  President,  Sir  John  Brand,  the  burghers  would 
have  learned  the  value  of  their  connection,  there  was 
little  or  no  chance  of  unfriendly  action  on  their  part 
or  on  the  part  of  the  Government  of  that  State. 

It  soon  became  apparent,  after  the  death  of  Sir  John 
Brand,  and  the  election  of  Mr.  Reitz  as  his  successor, 
that  the  freedom  from  criticism  with  regard  to  political 
arrangements  with  the  Free  State,  so  earnestly  pressed 
for  by  the  Transvaal  delegates,  was  not  to  remain 
unutilized.  Delegations  of  members  of  both  Republican 
Volksraads  were  appointed  and  met  at  Potchefstroom, 
where  an  agreement  was  drawn  up  which  prepared  the 
way  for  what  was  called  the  '  closer  union  '  of  the  two 
Republics.  At  that  time,  however,  the  Free  State 
burghers  were  scarcely  prepared  to  throw  in  their  lot 
with  the  sister  Repubhc,  and  the  people  had  to  be 
educated,  and  to  a  great  extent  corrupted,  by  the 
unscrupulous  agents  whom  the  Kruger  Government 
has  made  a  speciality  of  employing  in  its  political 
campaigns  both  in  Europe  and  South  Africa. 

After  the  Jameson  Raid  the  efforts  of  the  secret 
spies  of  Pretoria  were  redoubled,  and  that  unfortunate 
occurrence  proved  a  most  useful  argument,  as  it  was 
alleged  that  the  design  of  Great  Britain  was  to  deprive 
both  the  Republics  of  their  '  independence.'  It  became 
an  easy  matter  to  work  upon  the  feelings  of  the  Boers 
who  represented  the  people  in  the  Volksraad  at  Bloem- 
fontein,  that  a  common  danger  existed  which  could 
only  be  averted  by  the  united  strength  of  the  two 
peoples.  It  was  in  vain  that  Mr.  Fraser,  who  formerly 
occupied  the  responsible  position  of  Chairman  of  the 

5—2 


68  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

Volksraad,  pointed  out  the  fatal  results  that  would 
follow  closer  union  with  the  Transvaal.  The  Trans- 
vaal party  triumphed,  and  the  Free  State  became 
politically  one  with  the  more  northern  Republic.  The 
unwise  and  mischievous  concession  made  by  Lord 
Derby  has  borne  the  inevitable  fruits  of  conciliation 
when  put  in  practice  with  people  like  the  South 
African  Boers  :  it  has  landed  Great  Britain  in  a  struggle 
for  supremacy  in  South  Africa  which  might  have  been 
avoided  without  difficulty  had  a  definite  and  firm 
policy  been  adopted  with  regard  to  the  Transvaal  at 
an  earlier  stage  in  the  development  of  South  African 
history. 

All  this  played  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Kruger,  and 
enabled  him  to  obtain  what  at  one  time  was  the 
summit  of  his  ambition,  namely,  the  Presidency.  It 
is  scarcely  necessary  to  observe  that  the  chief  object 
in  promoting  the  closer  union  with  the  Free  State  was 
soon  not  limited  to  the  attainment  of  the  Presidency  of 
the  South  African  Republic  only,  but  grew  eventually 
to  that  of  a  Great  South  African  Republic  extending 
from  Cape  Town  to  the  Zambesi.  The  dream  was  not 
altogether  wild,  for  it  is  an  unquestionable  fact  that 
no  inconsiderable  portion  of  the  Dutch  population  in 
the  Cape  Colony  sympathized  with  Mr.  Kruger  and 
his  schemes,  notwithstanding  the  benefits  they  derived 
from  their  status  as  British  citizens.  In  point  of  fact, 
evidence  can  be  adduced  to  show  that  for  years  ante- 
cedent to  the  miserable  Jameson  fiasco  agents  were 
employed  to  weaken  the  loyalty  of  the  Dutch  colonials, 
and,  indeed,  went  so  far  as  to  secure  a  promise  of  co- 
operation in  any  movement  that  might  have  the  effect 
of  throwing  over  the  rule  of  Great  Britain. 

The  great  obstacle  to  the  fulfilment  of  these  far- 
reaching  designs  has  been  Mr.  Rhodes.  He  has 
earned    for   himself    the   hearty   hatred    of    the    two 


THE  RETROCESSION  69 

Presidents,  and  not  less,  in  later  years,  of  the  political 
party  represented  by  the  Africander  Bond  :  he  quite 
deserves  it  at  their  hands.  Since  Mr.  Rhodes  has 
become  a  power  to  be  reckoned  with,  his  general  in- 
fluence has  been  used  in  the  right  direction,  namely, 
to  the  maintenance  of  the  imperial  paramountcy  in 
South  Africa  against  all  comers,  whether  from  the 
Republican  States  or  foreign  nations  pretending  to 
have  special  interests  in  this  subcontinent.  It  is 
easily  understandable  that  President  Kruger  likes  him 
not,  not  only  because  he  believes  that  he  instigated 
the  invasion  of  the  Transvaal  from  the  west,  but 
because  he  has  effectually  closed  all  the  doors  to  the 
further  expansion  of  Boer  territory. 

The  result  of  the  deliberations  we  have  alluded  to  at 
Bloemfontein  was  the  formulation  of  a  scheme  by 
which  the  Free  State  was  practically  pledged  to 
espouse  the  cause  of  the  Transvaal  in  the  event  of  a 
war  with  2l  foreign  nation. 

Despite  the  arguments  of  the  more  enlightened 
members  of  the  Free  State  Volksraad,  who  pointed 
out  the  dangers  of  the  course  they  were  asked  to 
approve,  the  majority  of  the  Raad  ratified  the  alliance, 
which  now  undisguisedly  meant  an  endeavour  to  sub- 
vert the  paramount  position  of  Great  Britain  in  South 
Africa.  The  arming  of  the  burghers  of  the  Free  State 
with  the  latest  modern  weapons  and  ammunition  was 
enthusiastically  begun,  and  large  sums  of  money  were 
voted  for  carrying  on  the  work.  It  can  scarcely  admit 
of  doubt  that,  in  addition  to  the  amount  openly  voted 
for  the  purchase  of  arms  by  the  Free  State,  consider- 
able aid  was  given  by  the  Transvaal  in  the  supply  of 
warlike  stores  out  of  its  own  overflowing  arsenals  to 
insure  the  arming  of  the  burghers  with  weapons  and 
ammunition  of  one  description,  so  as  to  avoid  the 
difficulties  which  a  sudden  stoppage  of  supplies  from 


70  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

outside  might  bring  about.  It  cannot  be  omitted  in 
this  connection  to  record  the  assistance  given  by  the 
Cape  Ministry  to  the  designs  of  the  Boer  Govern- 
ment. Up  to  almost  the  last  moment  before  war 
was  declared  rifles  and  ammunition  were  permitted  to 
pass  through  the  Custom  Houses  of  the  Cape  Colony 
direct  to  Bloemfontein,  on  the  order  of  the  Free  State 
Government,  for  the  purpose  of  arming  against  the 
only  possible  adversary — Great  Britain. 

The  Premier  of  the  Cape  Colony  considers  that  he  was 
bound  to  grant  permits  because  of  the  Customs  Con- 
vention existing  between  the  Cape  and  the  Free  State. 
He  does  not  appear  to  have  called  the  attention  of  the 
High  Commissioner  to  the  fact,  nor  to  have  asked  the 
Free  State  the  reason  why  it  was  arming  so  heavily. 
But  Mr.  Schreiner  doubtless  views  with  a  sympathetic 
eye  the  vagaries  of  a  certain  class  of  his  compatriots, 
which  may  be  due  to  the  fact  that  he  is  less  than  half 
an  Englishman  by  birth.  In  one  respect  the  Prime 
Minister  of  the  Colony  may  be  likened  to  his  prototype 
Mr.  Gladstone,  in  the  great  facility  with  which  he  can 
bamboozle  himself  and  those  who  follow  him,  making 
the  worse  appear  the  better  cause.  That  is  the  only 
excuse  that  can  be  made  for  the  assistance  he  has 
given  the  rebellious  Republics  to  enable  them  to 
challenge  the  supremacy  of  Her  Majesty  in  South 
Africa. 

It  will  not  be  difficult  to  conceive  that  Mr.  Kruger, 
secure  of  the  support  of  the  Free  State  (with  a  com- 
placent and  sympathetic  Bond  Ministry  in  Cape  Town), 
furnished  with  enormous  stores  of  warlike  ammunition, 
and  his  capital  defended  by  a  chain  of  fortresses,  should 
have  imagined  himself  strong  enough  to  hurl  defiance 
at  the  representative  of  the  power  of  the  great  Empire 
over  which  Her  Majesty  rules.  These  preparations 
were  not  to  be  made  in  vain  and  rendered  innocuous 


THE  RETROCESSION  71 

by  concessions  to  the  demands  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, and  so  the  hour  had  arrived  when  Mr.  Kruger 
thought  that  it  was  possible  for  him  to  drive  the  EngHsh 
into  the  sea,  and  carry  out  the  idea  of  the  great  Dutch 
RepubHc  of  which  he  would  be  the  first  President. 
There  was  not  much  madness  in  this  belief,  for  the 
strength  of  the  military  force  in  the  Cape  Colony  and 
Natal  was  quite  inadequate  to  protect  their  frontiers. 
The  known  disloyalty  of  a  large  number  of  Dutch 
farmers,  who  were  British  subjects,  in  the  northern 
and  western  districts  of  the  Cape  Colony  had  been 
worked  upon  so  satisfactorily  that  several  districts 
were  formally  annexed,  with  little  opposition,  to  the 
Free  State  on  the  outbreak  of  the  war.  The  same 
process  took  place  in  Natal,  and  the  Boer  forces  were 
able  to  penetrate  within  forty  miles  of  Pietermaritz- 
burg  before  their  advance  seaward  was  definitely 
checked. 

For  a  short  time  President  Kruger  and  his  Free 
State  colleague.  President  Steyn,  have  enlarged  the 
border  of  their  Republics  by  the  annexation  of  British 
territory ;  but  as  we  write  the  process  of  driving 
back  the  enemy  has  auspiciously  commenced,  and 
President  Kruger's  ambition  will  soon  have  '  o'er- 
leapt  itself,'  and  the  progress  of  the  British  flag  will 
not  be  stayed  until  it  is  unfurled  under  the  statue 
of  Liberty  which  crowns  the  cupola  of  the  public 
buildings  at  Pretoria.  President  Kruger's  work  of  a 
lifetime  will  thus  have  been  brought  to  a  conclusion, 
and  the  scheming  and  wily  autocrat  who  has  for  his 
own  purposes  sacrificed  his  country  and  abused  the 
magnanimity  of  Great  Britain  will  have  the  opportunity 
of  lamenting  the  loss  of  a  position  which,  but  for  its 
flagrant  abuse,  might  have  been  one  reflecting  glory 
upon  the  last  days  of  his  life. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE    COMING    OF    KRUGER 

The  foregoing  pages  show  the  causes  which  led  primarily 
to  Africander  predominance  in  South  Africa ;  and  in 
drawing  the  curtain  upon  that  regrettable  portion  of 
British  history,  we  turn  to  the  chief  actor  in  the  new 
drama,  whose  quaint  and  inscrutable  personality  has 
played  such  an  important  part  in  the  history  of  our  times. 

Stephanus  Johannes  Paulus  Kruger,  to  give  him  his 
full  name,  is  a  man  of  whom  much  has  been  written, 
and  many  attempts  made  to  gauge  his  character,  but  in 
most  instances  without  full  success.  He  is  a  man  who 
uses  language,  in  the  main,  for  what  has  been  described 
as  its  most  useful  purpose,  to  '  disguise  one's  thoughts.' 
It  is  apparent  that  but  for  the  circumstances  which 
have  attracted  such  a  large  population  to  the  Transvaal, 
his  name  would  be  unknown  outside  his  native  land. 
If  the  gold-fields  have  done  nothing  else,  they  have 
revealed  to  us  a  phase  of  human  character  which,  in 
Paul  Kruger's  person,  repays  a  close  investigation. 

The  early  history  of  his  family  has  been  a  matter  of 
some  dispute ;  suffice  it  to  say  it  was  of  German  origin. 
The  founder  of  the  South  African  branch  was  a  certain 
Jacob  Kruger,  who  was  in  the  employ  of  the  Dutch 
East  India  Company,  and  the  President  is  representa- 
tive of  some  of  the  best  blood  which  flowed  into  the 
Cape  Colony  from  oversea.      The  families  of  Cloete, 


THE  COMING  OF  KRU(iER  73 

Steenkamp,  and  Steyn  have  intermarried  with  his 
ancestors.  He  is  thus  a  typical  specimen  of  the  Boer, 
an  example  of  the  commingling  of  different  races, 
resulting  in  the  formation  of  something  totally  distinct 
from  any  one  of  those  from  which  he  sprang. 

Many  tales  are  told  of  the  President's  early  life,  the 
majority  of  which  are  of  a  fictitious  nature.  The  story 
of  his  prowess  as  a  runner  and  his  phenomenal  feats  of 
strength  may  have  had  some  foundation  in  fact,  but 
'  Oom  Paul '  is  somewhat  of  a  humorist,  and  can  draw 
the  long-bow  on  this  subject  himself. 

The  following,  a  typical  story,  of  his  capacity  as  an 
inventor  may  be  given  :  The  President  (as  he  says)  was 
outspanned  with  his  wife  and  family  by  the  banks  of  a 
river,  when  some  elephants  came  down  in  the  cool  of 
the  evening  to  drink.  One  of  them,  while  engaged 
in  quenching  his  thirst,  had  his  trunk  seized  by  a 
crocodile.  The  sagacious  animal  immediately  with- 
drew from  the  water,  the  crocodile  maintaining  its  hold. 
Two  elephants  belonging  to  the  troop  formed  up,  the 
one  on  the  right,  the  other  on  the  left,  of  the  attacked 
animal,  and  proceeded  until  they  came  to  a  spot  where 
two  trees  had  grown  close  together.  The  one  elephant 
then  pulled  the  nearest  tree  towards  him,  and  his  fellow 
the  parallel  one,  while  the  wounded  elephant  deposited 
the  crocodile  between  the  trunks.  The  trees  swung 
together,  causing  the  crocodile  to  release  its  hold,  and 
its  was  left  to  do  the  best  it  could  for  itself! 

The  old  man  smiled  when  he  had  told  the  tale,  but 
another  of  the  party  capped  it  by  a  shooting  yarn, 
as  follow :  '  The  family  were  on  trek,  and  had  been 
very  unfortunate  in  the  pursuit  of  game,  which  was 
scarce  ;  in  fact,  they  were  without  meat,  and  the  father 
decided  to  have  a  look  round  by  himself.  The  shades 
of  evening  were  falling  when  he  secured  a  fat  buck,  and 
promptly  returned  home.     Amid  the  murmurs  of  con- 


74  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

gratulation  from  the  party  were  naturally  many  in- 
quiries as  to  how  he  had  shot  it.  He  explained  that 
the  buck  was  just  going  over  a  rise  into  a  dip,  when  he 
fired  and  bowled  it  over.  To  his  surprise,  he  found  that 
the  bullet  had  entered  the  hoof,  passed  right  through 
the  leg,  then  through  the  back  and  head,  and  emerged 
at  the  right  eye.'  The  narrator  of  the  tale  then  ex- 
plained the  moral  to  the  President.  He  said,  '  I  asked 
my  father  when  next  he  told  the  story  to  bring  the 
places  where  he  shot  the  buck  a  little  nearer  together.' 
The  President  admitted  he  had  been  fairly  scored  off. 
Much  of  the  humour  of  the  narrative  is  lost  through  the 
translation  into  English;  in  Dutch  it  appeals  irresistibly 
to  an  audience. 

Another  good  story  told  of  President  Kruger  at  a 
later  period  is  the  following :  In  the  early  days  of  the 
gold-fields  the  Transvaal  Government  generously  granted 
four  stands,  or  plots  of  ground,  to  the  various  religious 
communities  for  the  erection  of  places  of  worship,  with 
one  single  exception,  the  Jewish  community,  which 
only  received  two  stands.  This  caused  a  great  deal  of 
dissatisfaction  amongst  the  Israelites,  who,  as  is  their 
wont,  immediately  sent  over  a  deputation  to  interview 
the  President,  to  inquire  why  they  had  been  treated  so 
shabbily  compared  with  the  other  denominations.  The 
President,  smoking  as  usual,  listened  stolidly  to  their 
complaint ;  then,  after  a  long  pause,  gave  his  reason, 
saying :  '  You  people  believe  in  only  half  the  Bible,  the 
others  believe  in  the  whole  of  it ;  when  you  do  the 
same  I  will  give  you  the  other  two  stands !' 

Of  Mr.  Kruger's  youthful  days  we  have  not  many 
records.  With  all  his  faults,  he  is  not  given  to  boast- 
ing, and  to  all  the  attempts  which  have  been  made  to 
draw  him  on  this  subject  he  has  presented  an  inscrutable 
front.  This  is  certain  :  his  early  life  was  one  of  hardship 
and  danger,  and  his  continual  combats  with  the  natives 


THE  COMING  OF  KRUGER  75 

gave  him  that  contempt  for  everything  except  sheer 
force  which  has  been  so  exemplified  in  his  poHcy. 

Elected  a  Sub-Veldcornet  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  he 
became  a  Veldcornet,  a  position  of  considerable  import- 
ance among  the  Boers,  at  the  early  age  of  twenty  years. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  even  at  that  period  he  was 
marked  among  his  fellows  as  the  coming  man. 

The  Boers  have  not  many  masters  in  diplomatic 
cunning  of  a  kind,  and  that  Kruger  should  have  been 
selected  so  early  in  life  for  a  high  position  showed  that 
he  possessed  exceptional  ability  in  that  respect. 

From  the  very  first,  in  the  different  disputes  which 
arose  between  the  burghers,  he  took  the  stronger  side ; 
and  whilst  striving  to  make  it  yet  stronger,  he  was 
content  to  take  second  place  until  the  time  was  ripe 
for  him  to  aspire  to  the  Presidential  chair.  Mr.  Kruger 
is  also  a  keen  business  man,  and  he  has  not  lost  the 
opportunities  which  his  position  afforded  him  for  im- 
proving his  financial  position.  At  the  present  time  he 
is  far  on  the  road  to  being  a  millionaire,  while  some  of 
his  family,  notably  Frikkie  Eloff,  are  not  far  behind 
him.  This  greed  of  wealth  and  the  desire  for  personal 
aggrandisement  greatly  mar  the  finer  aspects  of  his 
remarkable  character.  He  has  proved  himself  to  be 
the  most  skilful  of  opportunists,  continually  turning  the 
various  difficulties  of  his  country  and  of  his  political 
opponents  to  his  personal  advantage.  Like  Napoleon, 
he  would,  if  he  deemed  it  necessary,  drive  his  artillery 
over  the  bodies  of  the  wounded. 

In  i860  President  Pretorius  left  for  the  Free  State 
on  six  months'  leave  of  absence,  and  during  this  term 
accepted  the  Presidency  of  that  Republic.  The  Trans- 
vaal at  that  time  was  torn  with  faction,  and  the  Presi- 
dent hoped  that,  by  joining  the  Presidencies  in  his  own 
person,  he  could  use  the  better  influence  of  the  Free 
State  towards  settling  the  disputes  of  his  unruly  country- 


76  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

men.  But  the  interested  parties  across  the  Vaal  found 
a  way  out  of  the  prudent  poHcy  of  Pretorius  by  asserting 
that  the  Constitution  agreed  to  in  1857  prevented  the 
holding  of  two  offices  by  the  State  President,  and  he 
was  thereupon  forced  to  resign.  But  not  for  long  ;  the 
two  parties  in  the  State  resolved  themselves  under  two 
heads — Stephanus  Schoeman  and  Paul  Kruger ;  and 
Kruger  was  determined  that  Schoeman  should  not  hold 
the  reins  of  office.  The  consequence  was  that  the  two 
parties  came  to  blows  at  Pretoria,  somewhere  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  town,  which  now  rejoices  in  the 
name  of  Bloed  Street.  The  Schoeman  party  were 
driven  on  to  Potchefstroom,  when  ex-President  Pretorius 
appeared  as  mediator,  and  persuaded  both  parties  to 
adjust  their  grievances  before  a  special  court,  to  be 
presided  over  by  one  of  the  Natal  judges  if  possible. 

An  explanation  of  the  desire  to  submit  to  the  adjudica- 
tion of  an  English  judge  will  perhaps  be  found  in  the 
following  anecdote,  although  it  may  be  that  the  incident 
occurred  at  a  later  date. 

There  are  only  two  instances  on  record  of  English- 
men having  been  offered  the  Presidencies  of  the  two 
Republics — the  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal — the  one 
when  Mr.  Reitz  offered  to  retire  in  favour  of  Sir  George 
Grey;  and  the  second  when  a  deputation  of  Boers  from 
the  Transvaal  invited  one  of  the  Natal  judges,  the  late 
Sir  Lushington  Phillips,  to  assume  the  reins  of  office. 
The  latter  gentleman,  the  prince  of  good  fellows  and 
sportsmen,  used  to  tell  the  story  and  express  the  opinion 
that  if  he  had  accepted  the  post  Mr.  Kruger  would  have 
had  very  little  occasion  to  exercise  his  anti-British  pro- 
clivities. This  is  the  same  Sir  Lushington  Phillips  of 
whom  one  of  our  greatest  Generals  said,  '  I  would  sooner 
have  your  calm  brain  at  my  command  than  two  regi- 
ments of  dragoons.'  However,  to  our  story :  At  that 
time  Phillips  was  a  great  friend  of  Piet  Uys,  the  mighty 


THE  COMING  OF  KRUGER  n 

hunter ;  and  through  his  acquaintance  with  this  family, 
which  is  a  very  prosperous  one  in  the  south-eastern 
corner  of  the  Transvaal,  he  became  known  far  and  wide 
throughout  the  country  as  '  een  oprechte  Engelsman  '  (a 
true  Englishman) ;  and  the  fact  of  his  having  saved  Uys 
from  the  attack  of  a  tiger^ — or  leopard,  to  be  accurate 
— added  still  more  to  his  popularity.  He  was  therefore 
not  taken  by  surprise  when  one  morning  a  deputation, 
headed  by  the  Irish-American,  Aylward,  waited  on 
him  and  offered  him  the  Presidency  of  the  Transvaal. 
The  genial  knight  replied  that  the  only  condition  on 
which  he  would  accept  the  position  would  be  that  the}' 
provided  him  with  a  body-guard  of  600  men,  who  were 
to  be  at  their  post  night  and  day.  The  Boers  answered 
that  they  were  very  sorry,  but  the  country's  finances 
would  not  permit  this,  and  asked  if  he  could  not  do  with 
a  less  number.  Sir  Lushington  then  explained  that  he 
had  a  warm  temper,  and  there  would  probably  be  many 
differences  between  them ;  then  he  w^ould  require  to  use 
force,  so  that  his  accepting  their  offer  would  be  use- 
less. On  the  return  of  the  deputation,  Aylward,  who 
was  slightly  crippled,  suggested  that  he  was  eligible 
for  the  position  ;  but  the  slim  Boers  replied  (they 
knew  their  man),  '  We  never  inspan  a  lame  ox  in  a 
team.' 

To  resume,  Schoeman  was  obdurate,  and,  having 
again  tried  to  cause  trouble,  his  forces  were  finally 
dispersed,  and  his  downfall  completed  by  the  joint 
efforts  of  Pretorius  and  Kruger. 

The  Presidential  election  then  took  place,  for  which 
the  ex-President  Pretorius  and  a  Mr.  van  Rensburg  were 
candidates.  Owing  to  some  dispute  as  to  the  manner 
in  which  the  votes  were  recorded  (a  favourite  device 
for  upsetting  elections  in  the  Transvaal),  trouble  again 
occurred,  and  a  battle  ensued  on  January  5,  1864,  in 
which  Kruger,  as  usual,  gained  the  victory.     Matters 


78  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

were  then  patched  up  once  more  by  Pretorius,  and 
the  RepubHc  entered  upon  a  period  of  comparative 
quietude. 

The  question  which  arises  in  reading  this  page  of 
Transvaal  history  is,  Why  did  not  Kruger  at  that  period 
assume  the  Presidency  of  the  Repubhc  ?  The  reason 
is  a  very  simple  one.  At  that  time  Kruger  was  Com- 
mandant-General, and  in  that  capacity  had  the  control 
of  the  people.  Pretorius  was  an  older  man  than  he, 
and  the  argument  which  the  Boers  and  Kruger  himself 
would  doubtless  apply  was.  We  have  a  man  who  has 
served  us  well  as  President,  and  another  who  suits  us 
as  Commandant-General.  Why  disturb  them  in  the 
positions  for  which  they  are  qualified  in  such  a  way 
that  we  shall  be  deprived  of  the  services  of  one  of  them  ? 
These  were  the  reasons  which  actuated  so  many  of  the 
old  burghers  in  voting  at  a  later  period  so  repeatedly  for 
Kruger  in  preference  to  Joubert.  When  remonstrated 
with,  they  always  replied,  *  If  we  dismiss  Kruger,  we 
lose  a  President  who  has  served  us  well ;  and  in  gaining 
a  new  President  we  lose  our  Commandant-General : 
and  who  is  to  take  his  place  ?  No  ;  let  him  '  (Joubert) 
'  wait  until  the  President  gets  too  old  or  death  removes 
him.'  To  these  well-known  prejudices  of  the  Boers  is 
due  the  long  tenure  of  office  which  Pretorius  and  Kruger 
enjoyed  ;  and  although  Pretorius  was  severely  criticised 
on  account  of  the  negotiations  which  led  up  to  what  is 
called  'the  Keate  award' — a  matter  of  territorial  adjust- 
ment, in  which  the  English  for  once  got  the  better  in  the 
deal — which  led  to  his  resignation,  yet  if  he  had  desired 
he  could  have  been  re-elected  again.  But  he  was  a 
patriotic  and  a  far-seeing  man,  and  realized  that  the 
recent  discovery  of  the  Diamond  Fields  and  the  ad- 
vancement of  civilization  required  that  a  man  with 
European  training  should  become  Chief  Magistrate  of 
the  land.     This  resulted  in  the  election,  in   1872,  of 


THE  COMING  OF  KRUGEK  79 

the  Rev.  Thomas  Fran9ois  Burners  to  the  position  of 
President. 

Of  all  the  voortrekkers  there  are  none  whose  career 
and  character  fill  one  with  more  kindly  regard  than  ex- 
President  Pretorius.  From  the  foregoing  lines  it  will 
be  seen  how  anxious  he  was  at  all  times  to  prevent  that 
dreadful  scourge  to  any  country,  civil  war ;  how  he 
arrested  its  progress  again  and  again,  and  how  his 
character  was  so  much  esteemed  that  he  was  respec- 
tively President  at  different  periods  in  each  of  the  two 
Republics.  He  is  one  of  the  few  Boers  who  could  never 
be  characterized  as  anti-English,  and  prior  to  the  war 
the  writer  urged  Mr.  G.  E.  Esselen  (not  to  be  con- 
founded with  the  political  adventurer  Mr.  Ewald  Esselen, 
his  brother),  whose  consistent  devotion  to  the  pro- 
gressive cause  in  South  Africa  has  always  been  so 
marked,  to  get  the  ex- President  to  make  a  last  appeal 
to  his  countrymen,  to  grant  that  measure  of  equal 
rights  which  could  yet  have  saved  them  from  destruc- 
tion. We  do  not  know  if  he  did  so,  but  what  is  certain 
is  that  a  few  weeks  before  the  war  began  Pretorius 
waited  on  the  President  and  begged  him  to  give  way, 
saying  war  would  involve  the  certain  loss  of  indepen- 
dence, to  which  the  President  replied  *  he  must  fight ;  if 
he  gave  way,  the  reim  (rope)  was  fast  round  his  neck.'* 

*  His  kindness  showed  itself  on  the  occasion  of  the  demise  of 
the  Transvaal  Advertiser,  a  paper  which  had  been  for  nearly 
sixteen  years  consistent  in  its  loyalty  to  British  interests  (see 
Appendix  J),  when  he  approached  the  late  editor,  saying,  '  I 
hear  you  have  nothing  to  do  ;  well,  come  and  help  write  my 
book  for  me,  and  I  will  pay  you  well  for  your  assistance.'  (It  may 
be  mentioned  in  this  connection  that  the  ex-President  had  been 
for  some  time  collecting  the  materials  for  a  book,  which,  if  ever 
published,  should  be  of  great  interest  as  a  truthful  record  of  the 
days  when  he  acted  as  President  of  the  two  Republics.)  There  is 
no  doubt,  had  the  generous  offer  been  accepted,  that  the  Transvaal 
Government  would  have  found  means  to  stop  the  miserable  pension 
that  it  so  grudgingly  awarded  him.     In  fact,  the  fear  that  he  might 


8o  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

Both  Kruger  and  Pretorius  had  agreed  to  join  hands 
in  supporting  the  new  President,  Burgers  (see  his 
vindication,  p.  30  et  seq.  of  Chapter  III,,  'The  Annexa- 
tion Discussed ')  ;  but  there  were  evidences  that  Kruger 
chafed  under  the  new  regime.  It  was  too  progressive 
for  him,  and  he  also  felt  that,  Pretorius  being  out  of  the 
way,  the  time  was  nearly  ripe  for  his  ambition  to  be 
gratified  as  head  of  the  State.  As  the  country's  diffi- 
culties increased,  he  began  to  intrigue  against  President 
Burgers,  who  regarded  him  at  that  period  as  the  most 
serious  of  his  opponents.  Constantly  feeling  the  pulse 
of  the  people,  he  kept  just  a  little  behind  public  opinion, 
which  increased  his  influence  when  the  time  came  to 
strike.  Then  came  the  annexation,  and  here  we  have 
the  turning-point  in  Kruger's  career.  Would  greed  of 
wealth,  the  desire  for  personal  aggrandisement,  or  pure 
patriotism,  carry  the  day  ?  The  pocket  is  a  very  tender 
spot  with  Mr.  Kruger,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  Sir 
Theophilus  Shepstone  was  fully  aware  of  this,  for  he 
gave  him  an  office  and  a  salary.  Later  on  Kruger  felt 
that  he  was  not  receiving  sufficient  emolument,  and  so 
resigned  under  the  circumstances  we  have  already  de- 
scribed, throwing  his  lot  in  with  the  anti-English  party, 
which  was  fast  assuming  strength  and  importance, 
owing  to  the  failure  of  the  British  Government  to 
carry  out  the  promise  made  on  the  annexation,  by  the 
re-establishment  of  the  Legislature  to  which  the  Boers 
had  been  accustomed  prior  to  that  event.  A  few 
sovereigns  grudged  and  a  handful  of  red-tape  given, 
and  the  price  ? — possibly  a  continent. 

The  first  deputation,  consisting  of  Kruger  and  Joubert 
(see  Appendix  A),  left  for  London  one  month  after  the 

expose  the  Government  led  them  to  bring  pressure  to  bear  on  him 
not  to  publish  anything  bearing  on  their  methods  in  the  past  ;  and, 
in  fact,  so  afraid  was  President  Kruger  of  this  that  he  indirectly 
threatened  to  stop  his  pension  if  he  published  his  reminiscences. 


THE  COMING  OF  KRUGER  8i 

annexation,  and  Messrs.  Kruger  and  Jorissen  were 
certain!}'  not  anxious  for  the  retrocession  of  the 
country  at  that  time.  Of  Joubert's  feehngs  there  can 
be  no  doubt ;  he  was  dead  against  the  annexation 
from  the  first,  and  cannot  be  accused  of  inconsis- 
tency. At  the  same  time,  it  was  not  to  the  apparent 
interest  of  the  Boers  to  have  the  country  left  in  its 
old  state  to  Boer  management.  The  British  Govern- 
ment had  to  do  its  work ;  the  Zulu  menace  had 
yet  to  be  removed,  Secocoeni  conquered,  and  the 
finances  of  the  countr}-  put  on  a  satisfactory  basis. 
The  moment  had  not  arrived  for  a  bold  admission  of 
the  aims  of  Kruger  and  Co. 

But  the  spark  of  rebellion  was  flickering,  always 
ready  to  burst  into  a  flame  by  an  appeal  to  those  racial 
animosities  which  form  the  backbone  of  Krugerism. 
To  preserve  this  vital  spark  it  was  decided  to  send  to 
England  a  second  deputation,  with  an  even  stronger 
petition.  This  time  the  deputation  went  a  step  further 
than  their  powers  seemed  to  have  justified.  Find- 
ing the  Ministry  still  firm,  they  approached  those 
members  of  the  Opposition  who  they  hoped  might  be 
willing  to  support  them.  Unfortunately,  their  efforts 
fell  on  no  unfruitful  soil,  and  Englishmen,  whose  lives 
could  otherwise  claim  nothing  but  respect,  were  found 
willing  to  openly  support  the  cause  of  England's  enemy. 

The  Zulu  War  and  the  Secocoeni  campaign  had 
become  things  of  the  past,  and  our  troops  were  re- 
turning home  ;  and  yet  one  obstacle  remained  to  the 
realization  of  Boer  hopes.  This  was  the  endeavour  of 
Sir  Bartle  Frere,  in  1880,  to  pass  through  the  Cape 
Parliament  the  confederation  scheme  of  South  Africa. 
Kruger  and  his  colleagues  were  equal  to  the  occasion  ; 
they  well  knew  that  if  federation  was  accomplished 
their  case  was  well-nigh  hopeless.  To  obviate  this  the 
triumvirate  set  forth  on  a  fresh  mission  to  Cape  Town. 

6 


82  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

The  Africander  party  was  aroused  by  the  old  battle-cry 
of  *  oppression ' ;  the  scheme  fell  through,  and  Sir 
Bartle  Frere  found  his  recall  awaiting  him  as  the  con- 
sequence (see  Appendix  G). 

Mr.  Kruger  has  brought  to  a  fine  art  his  habit  of 
using  everyone  who  is  necessary  to  his  plans,  and 
throwing  him  over  if  he  is  unlikely  again  to  be  of  use. 
He  dealt  with  Messrs.  J.  B.  Robinson,  Leo  Weinthal, 
and  J.  H.  Hofmeyer,  Sir  Henry  de  Villiers,  Dr. 
Jorissen,  Chief  Justice  Kotze,  and  hundreds  of  others 
in  this  way,  establishing  without  a  doubt  that  nothing 
but  blind  obedience  could  ensure  his  continued  support. 

Having  successfully  used  the  Bond,  he  could  throw 
it  over  or  draw  it  to  him  as  he  desired.  He  had  the 
potent  charm  of  racial  connection  and  racial  hatred  to 
conjure  with,  and  he  quickly  realized  the  power  he 
possessed,  and  how  to  use  it  when  required.  His 
efforts  in  opposing  the  confederation  scheme  had  re- 
vealed to  him  his  strength  ;  he  could  treat  the  strongest 
opponents  as  ninepins  so  long  as  he  retained  the  faith 
in  him  of  the  great  body  of  Dutch  Boers. 

Mr.  Kruger  does  not  appear  to  have  shone  in  connec- 
tion with  the  war  of  1881  ;  he  was  always  engaged  on 
urgent  business  in  the  Rustenburg  district  or  elsewhere 
when  the  most  severe  fighting  was  taking  place.  In 
his  own  mind  there  were  doubts  as  to  whether,  after  all, 
the  fighting  would  be  successful,  but  he  was  determined 
to  risk  battle  on  the  strength  of  the  support  which  he 
had  been  promised  by  British  subjects  who  were  push- 
ing  his  cause   across   the    water.*      Besides,    he   had 

*  An  English  burgher  was  shown  at  the  time,  by  Kruger's 
brother,  a  document  signed  by  a  member  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, undoubtedly  sent  during  the  war,  assuring  the  Boers  that  if 
they  held  out  the  retrocession  was  certain.  It  is  of  course  im- 
possible to  obtain  the  document  now,  and  it  is  useless  to  court  a 
denial  by  mentioning  the  name  of  the  person  in  question.  We  are 
prepared,  nevertheless,  to  vouch  for  the  truth  of  this  statement. 


THE  COMING  OF  KRUGER  83 

promises  of  support  from  the  Cape  Colony  and  the 
Free  State  ;  in  fact,  many  Free  Staters  were  in  the 
field  at  the  time  of  the  armistice, 

Mr.  Kruger  made  his  presence  felt  the  moment  peace 
negotiations  were  on  the  tapis,  and  he  was  instrumental 
in  procuring  the  signing  of  a  protocol,  defining  the 
terms  of  peace,  although  Joubert  had  practically  agreed 
with  Sir  Evelyn  Wood  verbally.  This  point  was  of 
immense  importance  to  Kruger,  as  it  then  only  became 
a  question  of  time  for  the  full  retrocession  of  the  coun- 
try. Without  this  document  a  subsequent  hitch  might 
have  upset  his  plans. 

The  1881  Convention  was  not  quite  to  Mr.  Kruger's 
liking,  but  he  looked  upon  it  as  a  stepping-stone  ;  and 
Mr.  Gladstone  assured  the  Transvaal  Government  that 
it  might  be  revised  at  some  future  time  should  it  be 
found  not  to  work  well.  Mr.  Kruger  took  the  hint, 
and  made  it  his  business  to  see  that  it  did  not  work. 
He  succeeded  so  well  that  his  emissaries  managed  to 
appropriate  a  portion  of  Zululand,  which  afterwards 
was  known  as  the  New  Republic.  This  raid  he  has 
seen  fit  to  forget,  and  he  was  foiled  in  his  efforts  on  the 
western  border  by  the  Rev.  John  Mackenzie*  and  the 

*  The  Rev.  Mr.  Mackenzie's  name  is  held  in  high  esteem  by  the 
Loyalists  of  South  Africa,  for  he  alone  made  possible  the  projects 
of  Mr.  Rhodes  at  a  later  date,  although  that  gentleman  did  all  in  his 
power  at  that  time  to  frustrate  his  efforts.  We  take  the  liberty  of 
quoting  Sir  Charles  Warren's  remarks  on  the  subject,  in  the 
November  (1899)  number  of  the  Contemporary  Review,  which 
describe  so  graphically  the  brilliant  services  Mr.  Mackenzie  ren- 
dered.    He  says  : 

'  Fortunately,  there  was  one  man  in  South  Africa  who  had 
sufficient  ability,  personal  weight,  and  knowledge  of  the  subject 
to  bring  before  the  public  both  in  South  Africa  and  Great  Britain 
the  true  position  into  which  the  British  Government  had  drifted, 
and  the  deplorable  condition  into  which  the  British  colonists  had 
been  forced,  and  who  was  untiring  in  his  efforts  on  behalf  of  the 
Empire. 

6—2 


84  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

loyal  native  tribes  of  what  is  now  British  Bechuana- 
land. 

'  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  Empire  is  indebted  to  John 
Mackenzie,  the  Kuruman  missionary,  the  successor  of  Moffat  and 
Livingstone,  for  stemming  single-handed  the  tide  of  the  "giving- 
up "  poHcy,  and  bringing  round  public  opinion  to  a  sense  of  the 
duties  of  the  Empire  as  the  paramount  Power.  The  history  of 
these  times  and  the  account  of  the  action  taken  by  John  Mackenzie 
have  yet  to  be  written  ;  in  Britain's  days  of  difficulty  men  have 
always  risen  fitted  for  the  occasion,  and  on  no  more  momentous 
occasion  was  a  true  son  of  Britain  required  than  in  the  dark  days 
of  South  Africa,  the  years  1881  to  1884.  He  was  not  merely  a 
missionary  speaking  for  the  South  African  natives — as  such  he 
could  have  had  little  effect  on  public  opinion  ;  but  he  took  a  high 
aim  as  a  true  Imperialist,  and  asked  for  fair  play/ir  «//,  British, 
Dutch,  and  natives.  His  was  no  local  cry  of  "Africa  for  the 
Africander,"  nor  was  it  a  narrow-minded  proposal  to  tread  down 
the  Dutch  under  the  British  ;  but  he  took  the  broad  view  that  all 
who  were  fitted  for  the  position  were  fellow-subjects  of  Great 
Britain,  and  he  lectured  on  the  matter  in  the  Cape  Colony  to  Dutch 
and  English,  Boers  and  British  Africanders,  and  won  the  hearing 
and  suffrages  of  many. 

'  Owing  to  John  Mackenzie's  efforts,  and  the  support  given  to 
him  by  many  conspicuous  leaders.  Liberal  and  Conservative,  by 
little  and  little  the  "  giving-up  "  policy  was  abandoned,  and  the 
same  statesman,  who  in  one  year  declined  to  listen  to  any  proposal 
for  the  exercise  of  British  influence  where  a  gunboat  could  not  go, 
in  the  following  year  came  round  to  the  view  that  the  Empire 
required  an  active  interference  with  an  imperial  force  in  the  heart 
of  South  Africa. 

'  The  Boers  had  overflowed  into  the  native  territories  east  and 
west  of  the  Transvaal,  and  were  fast  absorbing  them  spite  of  all 
agreements,  urged  on,  as  each  High  Commissioner  has  pointed 
out,  by  the  tacit  approval,  if  not  the  direct  sanction,  of  the  Trans- 
vaal Government. 

'  When  the  expedition  arrived  at  Cape  Town  in  November,  1884, 
the  loyal  folk,  British  and  Dutch,  woke  up  from  their  lethargy  and 
discontent.  Their  enthusiasm  was  unbounded  ;  they  added  three 
regiments  of  volunteers,  and  assisted  in  the  successful  termination 
of  the  expedition  by  which  the  Boer  filibusters  were  turned  back 
into  the  Transvaal  without  fighting.  Loyal  people  now  felt  that 
they  could  look  the  malcontent  Boer  in  the  face,  and  say  that  the 
British  Government  was  doing  its  duty  ;  but  they  were  in  advance 


THE  COMING  OF  KRUGER  85 

In  1883  Mr.  Kruger,  who  had  been  acting  as  President 
under  the  triumvirate,  was  elected  State  President  by 
a  large  majority  over  General  Joubert,  and  Dr.  Jorissen 
was  despatched  in  the  early  part  of  the  year  for  the 

of  their  politicians,  who  were  at  the  back  of  the  Boer  majority,  and 
during  the  work  of  the  expedition,  and  for  some  years  afterwards, 
the  Ministry  acted,  to  say  the  best,  in  a  half-hearted  manner,  and 
looked  askance  at  imperial  interference.  The  drift  of  the  views- 
they  held,  or  at  least  that  they  expressed,  may  be  gathered  from 
the  remarks  of  some  of  the  leading  Englishmen  in  the  Cape 
Assembly  debate,  July  16,  1884,  on  the  Bechuanaland  annexation 
question.  There  were  some  honourable  exceptions — to  wit,  Mr. 
Leonard  and  Sir  Thomas  Scanlan.  Mr.  Upington,  the  Prime 
Minister,  said  :  "The  government  of  South  Africa  should  be  in  the 
hands  of  the  people  of  South  Africa,  and  every  possible  effort  should 
be  made  to  prevent  outside  {i.e.,  British)  influence  from  affecting 
the  government  of  South  Africa."  Mr.  Sprigg  was  utterly  opposed, 
to  a  British  protectorate  in  South  Africa  ;  it  had  not  been  a  success- 
in  the  past,  and  was  not  likely  to  be  a  success  in  the  future.  Mr. 
Rhodes,  the  leader  of  the  Opposition,  said  tJiat  the  impet-ial  factor 
which  he  had  warned  the  House  against  i7i  the  pre7)ioiis  year  had 
now  beeti  introduced  into  Bechuanalatid,  and  he  believed  it  their 
duty  to  act  immediately  and  remove  the  imperial  factor  on  the 
border  of  the  Transvaal,  which  must  lead  to  danger  in  South 
Africa.  Mr.  Barry  said  that  the  sole  object  of  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment in  Bechuanaland  was  to  protect  the  natives,  but  this  was  not 
for  the  good  of  South  Africa. 

'  Thus  closes  another  scene  in  this  history.  When  the  curtain 
draws  up  again,  everything  has  changed.  Even  while  the  Bechuana- 
land Expedition  was  being  carried  out  in  1884-85  a  new  European^ 
Power  had  gained  a  footing  in  the  country,  and  a  German  protec- 
torate was  established  in  Damaraland  and  Namaqualand.  This  at 
once  forced  the  pace  of  the  British  Government,  already  on  the 
move  forwards,  and  of  the  British  in  South  Africa,  and  no  longer 
was  there  any  question  of  retrocession  or  giving  up.  The  chances 
of  rivalry  with  another  Power  spurred  on  British  traders  and 
merchants  to  secure  the  trade  routes  to  the  north  and  to  look 
towards  Mashonaland  and  Matabeleland,  with  which  the  Bechuana- 
land Expedition  had  already  entered  into  communication,  and  soon 
the  opening  up  of  the  country  to  the  Zambesi,  the  pushing  of  British 
enterprise  to  the  north,  and  the  opening  up  of  gold-fields  there, 
became  household  words.' 


86  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

purpose  of  ascertaining  the  feeling  of  the  EngHsh 
Government  on  the  subject  of  a  new  Convention. 
Jorissen's  report  being  favourable,  a  deputation,  con- 
sisting of  Messrs.  Kruger,  S.  J.  du  Toit,  and  N.  J. 
Smit,  proceeded  to  London  (we  have  already  briefly 
alluded  to  this  visit  in  its  bearing  on  the  Orange  Free 
State).  Unfortunately  for  them,  they  arrived  at  a  time 
when  the  efforts  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mackenzie  had  suc- 
ceeded to  a  certain  extent  in  rousing  public  opinion 
against  further  concessions  to  the  Boers.  It  seems 
incredible,  considering  this,  that  Lord  Derby  should 
have  given  way  to  them  so  much  as  he  did,  and  by  his 
actions  have  left  the  question  of  the  suzerainty  in  a 
state  of  ambiguity.  It  was  probably  due  to  the  public 
feeling  which  had  been  roused  that  a  still  greater 
abandonment  did  not  take  place,  and  that  the  shadowy 
control  of  foreign  relations  was  retained  by  the  British 
Government.  At  least  it  insured  a  re-adjustment  of 
the  western  boundaries  of  the  Transvaal. 

The  deputation  had  succeeded  in  its  main  objects, 
and  left  London  for  a  grand  tour  on  the  Continent  in 
the  hope  of  assuring  diplomatic  support  should  diffi- 
culties arise  in  the  future.  At  the  Hague  they  were 
naturally  made  the  heroes  of  the  hour,  and  after  visit- 
ing Antwerp,  Rotterdam,  and  Paris  they  were  received 
by  the  Emperor  William  I.,  and  banqueted  at  Berlin. 
On  this  occasion  an  unreported  incident  occurred, 
which  must  have  been  somewhat  disturbing  to  the 
equanimity  of  the  late  General  Smit.  The  General 
was  describing  in  glowing  terms  the  way  in  which  the 
burghers  had  shot  down  the  English  during  the  war, 
when  Bismarck,  who  had  been  listening  to  the  con- 
versation, said  to  the  person  whom  Smit  was  address- 
ing :  *  Ask  him  (the  General)  if  he  knows  what  would 
have  happened  to  himself  and  friends  had  Disraeli 
been    in    power.'     Smit    repHed :    '  No.'     '  Well,'   said 


THE  COMING  OF  KRUGER  87 

Bismarck,  '  I  will  tell  you.  You  would  have  been 
hanged  on  the  tallest  tree  in  the  Transvaal  long  ago.' 
This  naturally  cast  somewhat  of  a  damper  on  the 
recital  of  daring  exploits,  which  were  not  to  the  taste 
of  the  *  honest  broker '  who  never  lost  a  chance  of 
showing  his  respect  for  Lord  Beaconsfield. 

The  deputation  went  to  Lisbon,  with  an  escort  of 
Dutch  financiers,  and  there  Mr.  Kruger  formed  those 
valuable  connections  which  have  been  so  useful  to  him  in 
his  juggle  with  Delagoa  Bay.  He  succeeded  in  obtain- 
ing a  new  commercial  treaty,  which  had  the  object  of 
defeating  Colonel  McMurdo,  the  holder  of  the  Delagoa 
Railway  Concession.  This  treaty  has  been  often  referred 
to  by  the  President  as  part  of  the  independence  of  the 
country,  and  it  has  some  intimate  connection  with  the 
Netherlands  Railway  Concession.  What  was  the  cost 
of  obtaining  these  useful  arrangements  will  probably 
never  transpire,  but  the  Portuguese  have  not  been  in 
the  habit  of  carrying  through  Mr.  Kruger's  little  deals 
for  nothing. 

The  last  and  not  the  least  result  of  the  expedition 
was  that  the  services  of  Dr.  Leyds  were  secured,  so 
that  it  will  be  seen  Mr.  Kruger  accomplished  a  good 
deal  of  business  in  the  course  of  his  trip. 

In  spite  of  the  new  Convention,  the  Boers  still  pur- 
sued their  old  game  of  freebooting  on  the  western  border, 
and  assured,  as  they  were  at  this  time,  of  the  moral 
support  of  the  Cape  Ministry  (which  was  then,  as  it  is 
now,  a  mere  tool  of  the  Bond),  they  had  still  hopes  that 
their  plans  for  the  annexation  of  Bechuanaland  might  be 
successful.  The  idea  was  to  form  a  new  Republic,  which 
would  be  amalgamated  later  on  with  the  Transvaal.  In 
this  they  were  frustrated,  thanks  to  the  Warren  expedi- 
tion, but  at  a  heavy  cost  to  the  Imperial  Government. 

It  will  be  useful  here  to  dwell  a  moment  on  the  founda- 
tion of  the  Africander  Bond,  the  logical  sequence  of  the 


88  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

retrocession,  which  inaugurated  a  new  departure  in  Cape 
Colony  pohtics.  The  Rev.  S.  J.  du  Toit  is  spoken  of 
as  the  author  of  the  movement,  which  found  its  origin 
at  the  PaarL  The  objects  of  the  Bond,  as  modestly 
set  forth  in  its  constitution,  could  not  be  described  as 
treasonable  on  the  face  of  it ;  but  the  dividing  line 
was  a  narrow  one  when  its  actual  policy  is  considered 
(see  Appendix  F).  The  agitation  on  the  confedera- 
tion scheme  of  Sir  Bartle  Frere  had  shown  the  wire- 
pullers in  the  colony  what  a  powerful  instrument  they 
had  in  the  large  Dutch  population  of  the  Cape.  That, 
with  the  power  which  responsible  government  had  given 
them,  was  sufficient  to  make  or  unmake  the  politicians  of 
the  country,  and  pull  the  strings  at  Government  House. 
The  Bond  brought  into  prominence  Mr.  J.  H.  Hofmeyr, 
who  has  been  named  '  the  king-maker '  of  South  Africa. 
To  give  this  gentleman  his  due,  his  ideas  of  Bond 
interests  are  contained  in  the  words  '  Africander  pre- 
dominance ';  that  is  his  policy,  and  he  has  been  at  no 
pains  to  conceal  it  since  he  became  the  acknowledged 
leader  of  the  Dutch  party.  The  difference  between  him 
and  Paul  Kruger  is  merely  a  question  of  term  ;  with 
the  one  it  is  '  Africander  predominance '  under  the 
British  flag,  or,  in  other  words,  the  winning  side; 
with  the  other,  '  Africander  predominance  '  under  the 
Dutch  banner.  With  this  distinction,  it  has  been 
Mr.  Kruger's  aim  to  use  on  his  own  behalf  the  influence 
of  the  Bond  whenever  necessary,  and  he  was  successful 
in  this  until  the  strong  personality  of  Mr.  Rhodes  inter- 
vened, changing  the  course  of  things.  In  spite  of  this, 
and  up  to  the  formation  of  the  Chartered  Company, 
Kruger  looked  upon  Rhodes  as  a  republican,  and  in  a 
stormy  interview  between  himself  and  Joubert  on  the 
subject  of  the  company,  both  he  and  Leyds  declared 
that  'Rhodes  was  all  right,'  whereas  Joubert  insisted 
that  he  was  their  most  dangerous  enemy. 


THE  COMING  OF  KRUGER  89 

Mr.  Theo.  Schreiner  has  most  clearly  shown  in  his 
recent  letter  to  the  Cape  Times,  which  has  been  so 
freely  quoted,  that  Mr.  Reitz  (State  Secretary  of  the 
Transvaal),  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Bond  in  the 
Free  State,  was  imbued  with  the  Dutch  republican 
idea,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  at  the  present  time  a 
majority  of  the  Bond  are  in  favour  of  it.  '  Blood  is 
thicker  than  water,'  and  notwithstanding:^  all  protesta- 
tions it  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  this  is  not  the  case 
of  the  African  Dutch.  Mr.  Kruger  knew  it,  and  what- 
ever Mr.  Hofmeyr's  intentions  might  have  been,  the 
President  felt  that  he  always  had  '  the  Bond  '  at  his  back 
in  any  difference  with  the  Imperial  Government. 

The  establishment  of  this  huge  political  organization 
insured  the  success  of  Africander  dominion  throughout 
South  Africa  for  a  space  of  nearly  twenty  years  ;  it  has 
barred  the  way  to  Government  House,  and  the  efforts  of 
the  Loyalists  to  destroy  these  barriers  in  the  past  may 
be  compared  to  'the  breaking  of  the  waves  upon  a  rock- 
bound  coast.'  In  Mr.  Hofmeyr  the  Africander  party 
have  a  man  of  conspicuous  ability,  holding  his  followers 
under  a  discipline  worthy  of  Kruger.  If  a  Ministry 
displeased,  he  would  take  pencil  and  paper  and  sketch 
out  a  new  one,  sounding  his  men  privately  as  to 
their  views.  Then  suddenly  the  scene  would  change 
and  an  entirely  new  set  of  puppets  appear  to  dance  to 
the  Africander  tune. 

Mr.  Schnadhorst  had  an  unrivalled  reputation  for 
party  organization  in  England,  but  he  could  have  learnt 
many  lessons  from  Mr.  Hofmeyr.  He  has  made  prac- 
tically all  prominent  Cape  politicians  dance  to  the  tune 
he  piped.  The  men  who  would  not  respond  are  few 
and  far  between,  and,  like  Diogenes  in  his  famous 
search,  we  seek  for  them  almost  in  vain  in  the  political 
circles  of  the  Cape  Colony. 

It  was  necessary  to  digress  somewhat,  in  order  to 


go  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

muster  the  forces  which  Mr.  Kruger  had  now  at  his 
command.  He  could  reckon  on  the  support  of  three- 
fourths  of  Dutch  South  Africa  when  a  still  greater  good 
— or  was  it  ill  ? — fortune  befell  him.  This  was  the  dis- 
covery of  the  gold-fields. 

If  Mr.  Kruger  had  been  a  man  like  Pretorius,  in- 
different to  personal  gain,  he  would  have  said,  *  Let  us 
suppress  this  discovery,  for  it  will  involve  the  loss  of 
our  independence  '  (in  other  words,  Boer  predominance). 
But  he  was  not.  The  old  laws,  from  this  very  fear, 
expressly  forbade  the  search  for  gold ;  but  they  had 
been  allowed  to  lapse  through  disuse.  President 
Kruger  can  find  no  excuse  for  his  policy  in  this  par- 
ticular. Whether  he  could  have  carried  it  out  is 
perhaps  a  doubtful  point  ;  he  certainly  never  tried. 
Mr.  Johannes  Elardus  Erasmus  (now  deceased),  a 
wealthy  farmer,  whose  homestead  near  the  Halfway 
House  will  be  well  remembered  by  old  coach-travellers 
between  Pretoria  and  Johannesburg,  a  leading  member 
of  the  Volksraad  and  a  far-sighted  man,  appealed  to 
the  President  on  this  very  subject.  His  son  tells  the 
story  how  his  father  represented  that  the  increased 
population  would  be  a  continual  source  of  danger  ;  if 
they  were  once  admitted  to  the  country,  they  would 
become  entitled  to  the  rights  of  citizenship,  and  the 
end  would  be  that  the  old  burghers  would  find  them- 
selves in  the  minority.  The  President  pointed  to  the 
state  of  the  finances,  but  Mr.  Erasmus  offered  him  a 
free  loan  of  prio,ooo  without  interest  if  he  would 
promise  not  to  throw  the  fields  open.  The  President 
refused,  saying  he  would  contrive  to  make  it  all  right. 
*  Ik  zal  een  plan  maak  ' — *'  I  shall  arrange  about  that.' 
How  significant  these  words  seem  in  view  of  later 
events ! 

The  President  had  made  up  his  mind  to  '  sow  the 
wind  and  reap  the  whirlwind,'  if  necessary,  and  from 


THE  COMING  OF  KRUGER  91 

that  day  he  practically  laid  down  the  main  lines  of  his 
policy,  from  which  he  has  not  deviated  one  inch.  He 
had  one  piece  of  friendly  advice  from  the  late  President 
Brand,  which  was,  *  If  you  wish  to  govern  the  strangers 
successfully,  make  friends  of  them  ';  but  Kruger  had  his 
own  plan  cut  and  dried,  and  good  or  bad  advice  was 
equally  thrown  away  on  him. 

What  was  briefly  the  policy  which  he  outlined  for 
himself  ? 

1.  The  independence  of  the  country  was  to  be  safe- 
guarded by  the  gradual  restriction  of  the  franchise  law, 
so  that  the  irksomeness  of  its  conditions  would  prevent 
the  desire  of  burghership.  These  restrictions  were  to 
be  imposed  from  time  to  time,  so  as  not  to  attract  too 
much  attention  in  their  earlier  stages. 

2.  The  encouragement  of  the  gold-fields  until  a  certain 
point  was  reached,  when  the  State  and  family  party 
had  become  sufficiently  wealthy  and  powerful  to  dis- 
pense with  them.  Then  to  seek,  by  the  granting  of 
concessions,  to  so  hamper  the  industry  that  fresh 
capital  would  be  difficult  to  obtain,  and  the  net  con- 
sequence would  be  a  diminution  of  British  immigration. 

3.  To  encourage  Continental  immigration,  and  to 
interest  foreigners  in  the  concession  system  ;  thus  to 
secure  the  sympathy  of  foreign  Powers  as  a  further 
protective  barrier. 

4.  To  endeavour  at  the  same  time  to  alienate  the 
British  from  the  Mother  Country  by  pledging  the 
Africander  Bond  and  their  allies  to  an  insistence  on  the 
policy  of  non-intervention  on  the  part  of  the  Imperial 
Government. 

5.  When  this  plan  had  succeeded  (Clause  4) — a  proof 
of  which  would  be  the  commandeering  of  the  British 
population  as  conscripts,  without  vote  or  pay,  in  the 
republican  service  —  to  gradually  draft  them  in  as 
burghers  on  the  completion  of  their  term  of  military 


92  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF   KRUGERISM 

service,  and  by  this  means  steadily  incorporate  the 
majority  of  the  Uitlander  population,  the  proof  of 
military  service  being  sufficient  evidence  of  trust- 
worthiness from  the  Krugerian  point  of  view. 

6.  Should  the  capitalists  kick  against  the  conditions 
mentioned  in  Clause  2,  to  rely  on  the  cry  of  '  Labour 
versus  Capital,'  and  the  denunciation  of  the  Compound 
system.  (The  Boers  always  quote  the  Compound 
system  which  Mr.  Rhodes  has  instituted  at  Kimberley 
to  stop  diamond-stealing,  which  prevents  all  access  to 
the  mines,  and  confines  all  trade  to  the  company,  as 
a  proof  of  what  would  happen  should  the  capitalists 
obtain  a  say  in  the  Government.) 

Granted  once  the  success  of  the  commandeering 
policy,  the  jump  to  a  United  Dutch  Republican  South 
Africa  was  comparatively  easy. 

This  policy  was  not  at  once  adopted  in  toto  by  the 
President,  but  it  is  the  policy  which  has  governed  his 
actions  from  1885  to  1899  ;  the  only  reason  for  its 
failure  being  the  action  of  the  Loyalists  in  1894. 
Before  he  threw  open  the  new  gold-fields  he  had 
settled  the  policy  he  would  adopt,  which  was  to  limit 
strictly  political  ambitions  on  the  part  of  the  new 
population.  Many  of  the  latter  ideas  found  birth  in  the 
inventive  genius  of  Dr.  Leyds,  who  had  great  faith  in 
foreign  intervention,  and  was  unequalled  in  his  ability 
to  carry  out  (and  sometimes  perhaps  initiate)  the 
tortuous  diplomacy  of  his  master. 

Mr.  Kruger  had  later  on  Mr.  Reitz  as  his  brother 
President  in  the  Free  State,  than  whom  there  is  no 
more  rabid  republican  in  South  Africa.  It  is  true  that  he 
once  offered  to  retire  in  favour  of  Sir  George  Grey,  who 
was  then  in  Australia ;  but  this  was  only  on  account 
of  his  great  antipathy  to  President  Brand,  whom  he 
had  persuaded  to  retire  with  him  from  the  Presidential 
contest  should  Sir  George  Grey  accept  the  invitation, 


THE  COMING  OF  KRUGER  93 

of  which  there  was  not  the  sHghtest  chance.  On  this 
ground  Mr.  Reitz  has  been  paraded  in  some  circles  as 
being  at  one  time  a  quasi-Imperiahst.  He  played 
upon  those  lines  until  the  Free  State  Railway  was  built 
for  him  by  the  Cape  Colony  on  special  terms,  but 
directly  the  Free  State  took  it  over  he  showed  his  hand. 
To  anyone  who  doubts  this  we  commend  the  perusal 
of  a  little  book  of  rhymes  which  Mr.  Reitz  composed 
many  years  ago.  They  are  published  in  Dutch,  and 
the  spirit  of  ardent  republicanism  breathes  through  the 
whole  of  them. 

We  have  endeavoured  to  show  the  rise  of  Krugerisni 
as  differentiated  from  Africander  predominance  and 
imperialism,  and  it  is  necessary  to  keep  the  subtle  dis- 
tinctions between  the  first  two  policies  steadily  in  view. 
The  use  of  the  word  '  independence '  from  the  Boer 
side  does  not  convey  its  meaning  to  the  casual 
observer  of  South  African  politics.  It  means  their 
national  desire  to  remain  a  race  by  themselves,  refusing 
to  amalgamate,  and  only  allowing  absorption  into  their 
ranks.  It  has  been  Kruger's  life  policy  to  delay  the 
final  struggle  until  the  burghers  and  Dutch  Africanders 
should  have  by  increase  and  absorption  become  suffi  ■ 
ciently  strong  to  govern  the  whole  of  South  Africa. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

BOERS,    CAPITALISTS,    AND    CHARTEREDS 

The  preceding  chapter  brought  us  up  to  the  discovery 
of  the  gold-fields.  The  flotation  of  the  Sheba  mine, 
and  the  fabulous  reports  from  Barberton,  soon  attracted 
a  large  population  to  the  country.  The  State  revenue 
rose  by  leaps  and  bounds,  and  the  boom  became  an 
accomplished  fact. 

Prior  to  this  many  Kimberley  financial  firms  had 
opened  business  in  the  Transvaal,  chief  amongst  whom 
were  Messrs.  Isaac  Lewis  and  Samuel  Marks,  compos- 
ing the  firm  of  Lewis  and  Marks.  With  these  gentle- 
men was  associated  Mr.  Alois  Hugo  Nelmapius.  Mr. 
Nelmapius  was  a  man  of  much  ability,  and  *  Nelly,' 
as  he  was  affectionately  called  by  his  friends,  was  a 
welcome  guest  at  the  Presidency.  Mr.  Nelmapius  has 
now  been  dead  some  years,  but  the  result  of  his  work 
has  survived  him.  It  is  true  that  he  did  not  live  to 
reap  the  reward  which  seemed  already  his,  for  his  death 
occurred  at  a  moment  when  his  large  speculations  in 
ground  required  careful  attention.  The  collapse  of  the 
land-boom  a  short  time  previous  to  his  decease  resulted 
in  his  embarrassment,  and  prevented  his  nobler  am- 
bitions for  the  improvement  of  agriculture  being  carried 
out  at  his  farm  Irene. 

He  was  the  prince  of  concession-hunters  in  the 
Transvaal,  his  only  rival  at  that  period  being  a  Mr. 


BOERS,  CAPITALISTS,  AND  CHARTEREUS         95 

W.  E.  Hollard,  an  attorney,  who  boasted  that  he  could 
get  a  concession  for  anything  from  the  Government. 
On  one  occasion  he  proved  his  words  in  this  respect. 
In  the  course  of  conversation  a  friend  mentioned  to 
him  that  there  might  be  some  opening  for  a  Match 
Concession.  A  few  days  afterwards,  to  his  surprise, 
Hollard  turned  up  with  the  concession  in  black  and 
white,  but  apparently  no  business  resulted. 

These  were  times  when  the  millionaires  of  to-day 
were  in  their  swaddling  clothes  financially,  and  many 
schemes  were  resorted  to  by  them  to  gain  their  present 
position.  On  one  occasion,  when  Orientals,  Shebas, 
and  other  stocks  had  a  big  drop  in  London,  the 
wires  were  down  to  Barberton,  so  that  the  news  was 
sent  through  by  relays  of  horses.  Public  messages  had 
to  go  by  coach,  and  a  certain  well-known  speculator 
distinguished  himself  by  cutting  the  springs,  which 
delayed  things  sufficiently  for  himself  and  friends  to 
take  advantage  of  the  market.  All  kinds  of  tricks 
were  resorted  to  in  the  mad  struggle  for  wealth,  and 
the  most  respectable  firms  of  to-day  would  never  then 
turn  up  their  nose  at  a  good  fat  concession.  At  this 
stage  Mr.  Nelmapius  scored  his  biggest  success  in 
securing  the  concession  for  what  is  now  known  as  the 
Hatherley  Distillery.  This  is  the  temple  where  are  dis- 
tilled those  nectars  which  goad  the  Kaffirs  of  the  reef 
to  deeds  of  derring-do,  and  it  would  certainly  have 
paid  the  present  concessionaires,  who  have  large  mining 
interests,  far  better  never  to  have  started  it  could  they 
have  secured  instead  a  concession  for  '  total  prohibi- 
tion.' 

The  argument  which  Nelmapius  used  with  the 
President  was  that,  the  country  being  a  poor  one, 
manufacturers  could  not  establish  themselves,  and  so 
render  the  country  independent  of  external  com- 
merce, unless  they  received  special  advantages.      This 


96  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

argument  found  a  ready  listener  in  the  President, 
whose  wealth  and  interests  were  daily  becoming 
bigger. 

A  bold  attempt  was  made  at  this  time  to  get  what 
was  known  as  the  Bridge  Concession,  conveying  the 
sole  right  of  erecting  bridges  across  the  Vaal  River, 
and  involving  heavy  tolls.  The  fear  of  the  farmers' 
opposition  prevented  this  from  going  through.  An 
eminent  English  ship  -  owner  was,  it  was  alleged, 
amongst  the  interested  parties. 

In  all  these  transactions  it  is  exceedingly  difficult  to 
pin  Mr.  Kruger  down  in  any  corrupt  action.  There  is 
no  doubt  that  some  division  of  interests  between  the 
family  existed,  but  that,  of  course,  is  a  secret  between 
themselves.  Numerous  instances  of  a  more  or  less 
suspicious  nature  occurred.  The  following  will  serve  as 
an  illustration :  a  Mr.  McCorkindale  happened  to  die,  a 
gentleman  who  did  much  to  open  up  the  Transvaal  in  the 
Lake  Chrissie  or  New  Scotland  districts,  and  who  held 
contracts  with  the  Government  entitling  him  to  a  large 
tract  of  country,  which  the  Government  thought  fit 
to  dispute.  The  Volksraad  passed  a  resolution  on  the 
matter,  with  the  object  of  overriding  the  High  Court, 
as  in  the  Doms  case,  local  legal  opinion  being  then  that 
the  Volksraad  was  the  highest  authority.  This  view  was 
subsequently  reconsidered  by  Chief  Justice  Kotze,  and 
resulted  in  the  crisis  which  led  to  his  arbitrary  dis- 
missal. The  executors  of  McCorkindale  succeeded  in 
getting  a  portion  of  their  rights  recognised,  and  obtained 
transfer  of  certain  farms.  It  is  significant,  however, 
that  subsequent  to  these  arrangements,  Mr.  Kruger 
came  into  possession  of  a  large  number  of  farms  in 
the  New  Scotland  district  of  the  Transvaal  at  a  nominal 
figure,  and  these  are,  no  doubt,  still  registered  in  his 
name. 

On  all  sides  the  pilfering  and  peculation  increased. 


BOERS,  CAPITALISTS,  AND  CHARTEREDS  97 

We  do  not  hear  much  of  this  period  of  Transvaal 
history  to-day.  Yet  at  this  period  CapitaHsts  and 
certain  officials  alike  were  tarred  with  the  same  brush. 
Many  of  the  working  men  and  the  respectable  middle 
and  farming  classes  were  alive  to  the  dangers  involved 
in  reckless  bribery  and  corruption.  The  Transvaal 
Advertiser  poured  out  its  daily  remonstrances,  and 
many  a  penny  could  honest  John  Keith,  the  pro- 
prietor, have  made  had  he  cared  to  stray  from  the  path 
of  duty.  At  Barberton  a  political  organization  was 
formed,  and  the  local  paper,  edited  by  the  late  A.  H. 
Manson,  having  indulged  in  some  straight  speaking, 
brought  upon  itself  the  usual  penalty  of  a  prosecution. 
Under  the  existing  corruption  nothing  could  be  done ; 
the  mist  of  gold  had  dazzled  all  eyes,  and  the  policy 
of  the  President  was  firmly  established. 

Shortly  after  the  Rand  Gold-fields  had  been  brought 
into  working  order,  Mr.  Jan  Eloff,  a  relation  of  the 
President,  was  appointed  Mining  Commissioner.  He 
was  soon  spoken  of  as  the  secret  partner  in  a  firm 
which  has  at  the  present  time  developed  a  very  great 
interest  in  the  carr3'ing  through  of  reform.  With  the 
then  Minister  of  Mines  any  deal  could  be  got  through 
if  properly  engineered.  The  President  himself  had 
fathered  the  idea  that  if  the  officials  in  the  mining 
offices  did  not  get  rich  it  was  their  own  fault.  It 
was  a  case  for  him  of  spoiling  the  Philistines,  but 
he  forgot  that  he  was  at  the  same  time  spoiling  the 
country. 

In  the  early  part  of  1888  there  used  to  \\ork  in  a 
small  office  with  living-room  attached,  at  the  back  of 
what  is  now  known  as  Bureau  Street,  Pretoria,  a  man 
and  his  wife.  Ouiet  and  secluded,  they  were  busily 
engaged  in  perfecting  those  plans  which  led  to  the  very 
large  holding  which  German  firms  have  in  Transvaal 
concessions.      The   lady  was  as  indefatigable    as    her 

7 


98  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

husband ;  no  clerks  were  employed  to  deal  with 
the  important  correspondence.  They  had  no  small 
share  in  producing  the  present  state  of  things  in  the 
Transvaal.  In  Mr.  Lippert's  fertile  brain  originated 
the  idea  for  the  Dynamite  Concession,  and  with  that 
concentration  which  marks  Teutonic  intention,  he  set 
himself  the  task  of  getting  it,  and  he  succeeded.  The 
Cement  and  many  other  monopolies  also  fell  to  his 
share,  and  his  friendly  connection  with  the  Dutch 
railway  company  would  show  that  he  had  the  ear  of 
the  German  holders  in  that  concern.  To  the  President, 
this  means  of  consolidating  the  German  influence, 
which  was  so  useful  to  him  later  on,  was  not  to 
be  neglected ;  it  involved  friendship,  and  perchance 
something  more,  on  the  part  of  the  German  Govern- 
ment. Mr.  FitzPatrick,  alluding  to  the  Dynamite 
Concession,  says,  in  'The  Transvaal  from  Within,' 
the  concessionaire  himself  has  admitted  '  that  had  he 
foreseen  to  what  proportions  this  monopoly  would 
eventually  grow  he  would  not  have  had  the  audacity 
to  apply  for  it.'  This  plausible  explanation  must  be 
incorrect,  as  at  the  time  the  matter  was  before  the 
Volksraad  a  representative  of  a  firm  which  was  largely 
interested  said  to  the  writer,  '  If  we  only  get  this 
through,  the  firm's  fortune  is  made  ;  all  interested  will 
become  millionaires,'  showing  that  they  foresaw  the 
enormous  increase  which  was  bound  to  take  place  in 
the  consumption  of  dynamite.  Mr.  Wolmarans  and 
Mr.  Eloff  are  said  to  have  been  '  in  the  swim  ';  the 
one  was  the  President's  private  secretary,  the  other  a 
member  of  the  Executive.  Though  many  attempts 
were  made  to  elicit  facts  through  the  progressive  press, 
no  one  has  so  far  broken  silence. 

At  a  later  period  the  concession  was  cancelled  by  the 
Volksraad  ;  the  President  acknowledged  he  had  been 
misled  and  deceived  by  the  company.     But  something 


BOERS,  CAPITALISTS,  AND  CHARTEREDS  99 

was  behind  this  move  ;  the  President  would  never  have 
agreed  to  withdraw  the  hcence  which  was  given  unless 
he  had  had  some  ulterior  motive.  Suffice  it  to  say 
that  at  a  later  date  the  monopoly  was  re-created,  in 
such  a  way  as  to  make  it  apparently  a  Government 
or  State  monopoly ;  the  object  of  this  was  purely 
and  simply  to  evade  the  conditions  of  the  London 
Convention  !  To  go  into  the  dry  legal  aspect  of  this 
point  is  not  our  object,  but  certain  clauses  in  that  Con- 
vention prevent  any  '  undue  preference  '  in  trade  as 
against  British  subjects ;  the  first  concession  was  an 
undoubted  evasion  of  this,  and  Mr.  Advocate  Wessels' 
opinion  on  the  subject,  as  published  at  the  time,  was 
conclusive.  But  the  President  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 
The  British  Agent  at  Pretoria,  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet,  was 
very  active  in  his  efforts  to  finally  scotch  the  conces- 
sion ;  unfortunately,  the  fact  that  '  Nobels'  Trust  '  were 
intriguing  with  Lippert  secretly,  while  openly  they  had 
deluded  the  Chamber  of  Mines  by  professing  to  work 
with  them,  prevented  the  success  of  his  plans. 

The  effects  of  the  monopoly  with  regard  to  the  mining 
industry  are  well  known.  What  is  not  known  is  that 
it  constituted  a  serious  injustice  to  the  Roburite  Com- 
pany, a  company  owned  by  British  subjects,  holding  a 
patent  in  the  Transvaal  which  was  granted  in  the 
interim  between  the  cancellation  of  the  dynamite  con- 
cession and  the  granting  of  the  State  monopoly.  The 
Government  forbade  this  company  to  manufacture  its 
explosive !  As  legal  opinion  was  that  the  nominal 
Government  control  of  the  monopoly  would  affect  the 
decision  of  the  High  Court,  the  company  had  no  re- 
course but  to  appeal  to  the  Imperial  Government, 
which  merely  made  mild  representations  on  the  subject, 
and  these  were,  of  course,  ignored  by  the  Transvaal 
executive. 

Had  the  Chamber  of  Mines  taken  over  this  patent 

7-2 


loo  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

from  the  patentees  and  pushed  the  matter,  they  would 
have  had  a  formidable  weapon  as  against  the  dynamite 
monopoly,  but  the  fact  that  the  explosive  was  more 
suitable  for  coal  than  gold  probably  prevented  the  ex- 
periment being  tried. 

The  Selati  Railway  concession,  in  which  Mr.  Barend 
Vorster,  M.E.V.,  figured  as  the  agent  of  Belgian 
financiers,  was  an  audacious  conspiracy  ;  by  this  the 
State  was  robbed  of  half  a  million  of  money,  and  there 
is  nothing  to  show  for  it  to-day,  as  the  railway  was 
never  completed  owing  to  the  actions  at  law  instituted 
by  the  Railway  Commissioner,  Mr.  J.  S.  Smit,  who 
had  not  been  consulted  when  matters  were  arranged 
in  the  first  instance.  Valuable  watches  and  costly 
carriages  were  lavishh'  distributed  amongst  the  members 
of  the  Volksraad  who  had  either  given  or  promised  their 
support  to  the  application.  So  far  had  that  scandal 
become  public  that  the  President  was  compelled  to  take 
some  notice  of  it,  and  he  justified  the  members  of  the 
Legislature  who  had  received  '  presents '  upon  the  as- 
sumption that  they  were  not  accepted  as  inducements  to 
cast  their  votes  in  any  way  contrary  to  their  conscience. 
The  Netherlands  Railway,  with  its  sink  of  iniquity, 
has  been  fully  exposed,  but  a  few  lines  on  the  subject 
of  its  conception  may  be  apropos.  There  was  a  good 
deal  of  competition  for  this  concession  when  it  was 
granted,  an  American  syndicate  and  several  Pretoria 
people  representing  London  houses  being  in  the  running. 
Their  terms  were  infinitely  preferable  to  those  of  the 
Hollander  applicants,  and  at  one  time  it  looked  as  if 
Mr.  Kruger  would  pass  by  the  friends  to  whom  he  had 
promised  to  give  the  concession.  At  this  time  a  Hol- 
lander gentleman  made  his  appearance  in  Pretoria  ;  he 
brought  with  him  a  credit  of  about  ;£"io,ooo,  a  goodly 
sum  in  those  days ;  this,  coupled  with  the  fact  that  the 
President's  policy  and   Dr.  Leyds'  influence  were  on 


BOERS,  CAPITALISTS,  AND  CHARTEREDS        loi 

their  side,  gained  them  the  day.  The  question  is,  What 
part  did  the  ;^io,ooo  play  in  the  matter  ?  It  was  traced 
into  the  hands  of  a  German  missionary,  who  passed  it 

on  to .     The  Netherlands  South  African  Railway 

Company  is  controlled  entirely  by  Hollanders  and 
Germans ;  it  forms  the  iinperium  in  impcrio  of  the 
Transvaal.  Delicate  negotiations,  financial  and  diplo- 
matic, have  at  times  been  carried  through  by  its  aid,  and 
with  the  Dynamite  Company  it  forms  that  mysterious 
link  in  the  Transvaal  Government's  foreign  intrigue 
which  all  attempts  have  hitherto  failed  to  pierce.  When 
(as  he  frequently  did)  Mr.  Kruger  alluded  to  these 
monopolies  as  being  the  corner-stones  of  his  indepen- 
dence, he  referred  to  certain  guarantees  which  his 
Government  received  in  connection  with  them  from 
a  foreign  Power  or  Powers.  Baron  von  MarschalTs 
references  to  German  interests  after  the  Raid,  which 
were  published  in  the  German  White  Book  (see  Ap- 
pendix D),  give  us  some  clue  to  the  nature  of  the 
undertaking  which  probably  existed,  although  the 
Boers  look  more  to  France  to-day,  and  it  will  be 
surprising  if  some  effort  is  not  yet  made,  on  account 
of  these  pledges,  to  prevent  England  taking  over  the 
country.  The  man  who  has  striven,  year  in  and  }car 
out,  to  expose  the  Railway  Concession  abuses  is  Mr. 
R.  K.  Loveday,  the  member  for  Barberton,  one  of  the 
Loyalists  who  were  betrayed  by  the  retrocession,  and 
who  in  desperation  threw  his  country  over ;  we  can 
only  regret  that  events  have  deprived  the  Empire  of  his 
services. 

The  Barberton  boom  had  come  and  gone,  and  the 
Witwatersrand  boom  was  upon  us.  This  was  the  boom 
of  booms — a  time  which  will  never  be  revived  in  the 
Transvaal,  when  money  flooded  the  streets,  and  the 
very  office  boys  had  pockets  full  of  sovereigns !  A 
humorous  incident  occurred  to  a  friend  at  the  time. 


I02  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

He  was  standing  at  the  bar  of  a  hotel  in  a  httle  country 
dorp,  when  a  farmer  came  up  to  him  and  said,  '  Waar 
is  Mynheer  Syndikaat  ?  Ik  wil  hem  zien — de  kerel  wat 
zoo  byang  geld  het.'  (Where  is  Mr.  Syndicate  ?  I 
want  to  see  him — the  man  who  has  so  much  money.) 
The  farmer  had  heard  so  much  of  syndicates  and 
companies  that  he  evidently  thought  they  were  very 
important  personages. 

Soon  mediocrities  became  millionaires,  the  presence 
of  '  side  '  began  to  make  itself  felt,  and  we  began  to 
emerge  from  the  mining  camp  to  the  society  stage. 
Our  capitalists  became  more  careful  in  handling 
Government  deals.  The  greatest  secrecy  was  now  ob- 
served in  these  matters,  though  nothing  good  was  ever 
refused ;  and  a  new  element  appeared  in  the  shape  of 
down-country  friends,  who  wished  to  share  in  the  good 
things.  A  late  Minister  of  the  Cape  Colony  is  a  type 
of  this  class,  and  his  connection  with  concessions  was 
later  the  subject  of  very  severe  criticism  on  the  part  of  a 
Progressive  member  of  the  Second  Volksraad.  We  are 
afraid  his  scheme  for  electrical  tramways  at  Johannes- 
burg will  not  go  through  in  the  form  he  anticipated. 
This  gentleman,  whose  capacity  for  sitting  on  the  fence 
has  made  him  the  admiration  of  his  many  rivals  in  this 
country,  has  had  a  finger  in  a  good  many  Transvaal 
pies ;  it  was  largely  by  the  aid  of  this  valuable  con- 
nection that  he  was  successful  in  getting  through  the 
Cape  and  Free  State  Railway  extension  to  the  Trans- 
vaal, which  anticipated  the  Delagoa  Railway.  This  was 
a  pill  which  had  to  be  gilded  before  the  Government 
would  swallow  it,  and  it  was  said  that  a  sum  of  ^^50,000 
was  passed  through  the  National  Bank  in  this  con- 
nection. 

A  deal  in  which  the  late  Barney  Barnato  figured  to 
the  discomfiture  of  the  Kruger  family  occurred  at  this 
time,  and  was  described  in  the  Transvaal  Observer,  then 


BOERS,  CAPITALISTS,  AND  CHARTEREDS        103 

edited  by  Mr.  Eugene  Marais,  *  a  young  man  who  did 
sterling  work  for  the  Progressive  cause,'  and  who  suc- 
ceeded Mr.  F.  R.  Statham  on  that  paper.  Mr.  F.  Eloff 
was  the  holder  with  another  person  of  the  Vaal  River 
Water  Concession,  and  it  can  be  easily  understood 
that  Mr.  Barnato,  who  was  heavily  interested  in  the 
Johannesburg  Waterworks  Company,  did  not  wish  this 
concession  to  hang  over  his  head.  A  big  price  was 
asked  for  it  ;  so  that  the  only  thing  for  Barnato  to  try 
was  a  legal  juggle.  Eloff  was  duly  informed  that  terms 
could  be  arranged,  and  a  meeting  of  the  interested 
parties  took  place  at  the  Presidency.  A  document  was 
there  signed  to  the  effect  that  the  concession  was  to  be 
ceded  to  Mr.  Barnato,  and  that  he  was  by  a  certain 
date  to  bring  out  a  company  with  a  specified  capital, 
in  which  Messrs.  Eloff  and  Co.  were  to  receive  certain 
shares  and  sums  of  money.  The  agreement,  singular 
to  state,  only  bound  Mr.  Barnato  to  bring  out  a  com- 
pany, but  not  necessarily  to  guarantee  its  flotation. 
The  astute  Barney  duly  brought  the  company  out  with 
a  first-class  directorate,  but  needless  to  say  there  were 
no  subscribers  !  Eloff  was  furious  ;  but  he  could  do 
nothing,  as  Barnato  had  fulfilled  his  part  of  the  con- 
tract. He  had  at  the  same  time  succeeded  in  closing 
the  inconvenient  concession,  which  is  the  reason  why 
the  Vaal  River  Water  Scheme  has  sunk  into  abeyance. 
As  the  Cape  people  had  been  very  successful  in  ob- 
taining their  railway  extension.  Natal  became  alarmed 
at  the  possibility  of  losing  its  traffic  to  Charlestown, 
which  is  on  the  border.  A  delegate,  therefore — Mr. 
Binns — paid  a  semi-official  visit  to  Pretoria  to  feel  the 
way ;  he  was,  however,  told  that  nothing  could  be 
done  until  responsible  government  had  been  granted  to 
Natal.  At  a  later  date,  when  this  was  accomplished, 
the  colony  got  its  railway.  This  is  another  proof  of 
the  President's  unswerving  policy.     Railway  interests, 


I04  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERI3M 

commercial  interests,  race  interests,  must  all  be  used  to 
secure  the  ultimate  success  of  his  plans,  but  under  no 
circumstance  could  deals  take  place  through  the 
Imperial  Government. 

Hardly  a  day  passed  but  news  reached  the  com- 
munity of  some  fresh  scandal,  some  new  folly,  com- 
mitted by  the  Government.  The  late  Mr.  Jan  F. 
Celliers,  the  former  proprietor  of  the  Volksstem  news- 
paper, Mr.  Paul  Mare,  and  Mr.  Loveday,  were  most 
assiduous  in  exposing  and  condemning  these  abuses, 
and  yet  their  efforts  were  as  '  chaff  before  the  wind.' 

The  writer  had  the  pleasure  of  journeying  to  Johannes- 
burg with  Mr.  Celliers  shortly  before  his  decease,  and 
in  passing  the  long  lines  of  battery  houses  and  the 
busy  signs  of  industry,  some  premonition  of  the  future 
seemed  to  weigh  upon  him.  With  a  deep  feeling  of 
sorrow,  he  said,  in  pursuing  the  conversation,  '  What 
will  the  end  of  it  be  ?  To  what  miseries  are  the 
Government  condemning  the  unhappy  people  of  this 
country  !' 

A  scandal  which  he  was  most  successful  in  exposing 
was  the  one  known  as  the  Stands  Scandal,  an  affair 
which  created  a  good  deal  of  excitement  at  the  time;  but 
publicity  had  no  effect,  and  the  matter  was  glossed  over  as 
usual.  These  are  the  details  :  The  Government  during 
the  first  boom  had  sold  a  large  number  of  stands  in 
Johannesburg,  which  had  been  abandoned  owing  to  the 
bad  times  which  ensued  later  on.  Shortly  afterwards 
these  stands  became  very  valuable.  The  mining  officials 
and  their  friends  were  not  likely  to  let  such  splendid 
chances  pass  by,  so  they  arranged  to  make  application 
at  nominal  prices  for  the  stands  through  the  Mining 
Commissioner — to  Mr.  Christian  Joubert,  the  Minister 
of  Mines.  In  a  big  deal  like  this  everyone  had  to  stand 
in  who  knew  about  it,  which  having  been  successfully 
accomplished,  all  interested  received  their  stands.     On 


BOERS,  CAPITALISTS,  AND  CHARTEREDS        105 

account  of  the  large  number  of  vultures,  the  proverbial 
honour  was  wanting,  or  perhaps  some  disappointed 
applicant  gave  it  away ;  anyhow,  the  whole  thing 
gradually  leaked  out,  with  results  given  above. 

Nothing  could  excel  the  unblushing  effrontery  with 
which  this  organized  robbery  was  carried  on,  and  the 
effects  upon  the  youthful  population,  not  to  speak  of 
their  elders,  can  be  more  easily  imagined  than  described. 
Bribery  and  corruption  were  fast  eating  into  the  vitals 
of  the  country,  and  a  new  morality  became  the  order  of 
the  day.  It  is  this  which  has  given  Johannesburg  such 
a  bad  reputation,  totally  undeserved  so  far  as  its  in- 
dustrial population  is  concerned.  To  their  credit,  be 
it  said,  Englishmen  did  not  bulk  largely  among  this 
class  of  needy  adventurers. 

A  particularly  ugly  scandal  was  the  one  connected 
with  the  Street  Contracts  in  Pretoria,  where  some 
;;^i6o,ooo  was  disbursed,  a  large  proportion  of  which 
is  still  unvouched  for,  and  with  practically  nothing  to 
show  for  it.  But  as  a  curious  coincidence,  Mr.  J.  S. 
Smit,  the  Landdrost,  now  Railway  Commissioner,  and 
Mr.  Botha,  the  Street  Inspector,  both  became  possessed 
of  fine  new  houses,  of  a  very  superior  design,  on  the 
completion  of  the  contractors'  work. 

At  one  time  Mr.  Kruger  promised  his  son  Kaspar, 
who  lived  in  the  Rustenburg  district,  and  was  not 
getting  his  share  of  the  *  loaves  and  fishes,'  that  he,  too, 
should  have  a  chance.  For  this  purpose  a  syndicate 
composed  of  burghers  was  formed,  with  one  or  two 
leading  financial  spirits  thrown  in ;  and  it  was 
arranged  to  put  in  an  application  to  build  a  line 
between  Krugersdorp  and  Klerksdorp  at  ^10,000  per 
mile,  which  would  be  granted  by  the  Executive.  Un- 
fortunately for  the  syndicate,  before  this  could  be 
completed  a  dispute  arose  between  Mr.  Solomon 
Gillingham,   a   member,  and   the   engineer   employed, 


io6  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

as  to  the  latter's  share  of  the  plunder.  As  both  parties 
refused  to  give  way,  the  engineer  severed  his  connection 
with  the  syndicate,  the  consequence  being  that  he  used 
certain  influences  with  the  late  General  Smit  and  Mr. 
J.  S.  Smit,  the  Railway  Commissioner,  and  succeeded 
in  upsetting  the  plans.  On  the  appointed  day  the 
President  brought  the  application  before  the  Executive, 
and  stated  that  he  had  decided  to  grant  the  request, 
and  give  the  old  burghers,  who  so  far  had  got  nothing, 
a  chance  to  build  the  line  at  the  price  mentioned — 
3^10,000  per  mile.  When  the  discussion  was  over. 
General  Smit  rose  and  said  that  '  he  was  always  willing 
to  give  the  old  burghers  preference,  but  not  to  the  extent 
of  ^£"200, 000,  as  he  held  a  tender  in  his  hand  at  the  rate 
of  ;£"8,ooo  per  mile,  which  he  submitted  should  be 
accepted.'  The  President  saw  the  game  was  up,  and, 
furious  with  rage,  he  said :  '  Well,  if  the  burghers 
cannot  get  it,  nobody  shall  have  it,'  and  he  had  his 
way ;  the  Netherlands  Railway  built  it  for  the  Govern- 
ment account. 

On  various  different  occasions  the  family  party,  when 
trying  for  a  big  coup,  have  been  disappointed  in  this 
manner,  their  grasping  nature  overreaching  itself. 
Though  successful  in  many  minor  events,  they  did  not, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  ^ei  anything  really  big  for  some 
years.  At  last,  after  many  disappointments — not  only 
in  connection  with  the  Bewaarplaatsen  (grounds  adjoin- 
ing the  Rand  mines,  over  which  the  companies  hold 
surface  rights  only,  and  which,  on  account  of  its  proved 
value,  had  been  applied  for  three  deep  by  the  adventurer 
class — see  Appendix  C),  but  also  with  the  building  of 
the  Natal  Railway,  where  they  were  upset  by  the  Press, 
Mr.  J.  B.  Robinson's  paper,  and  many  other  schemes 
— Mr.  Hendrik  Schoeman  and  his  friends  succeeded  in 
getting  the  Petersburg  Railway  Concession.  Intend- 
ing visitors  to  the  Transvaal    cannot  do  better  than 


BOERS,  CAPITALISTS,  AND  CHARTEREDS        107 

visit  Mr,  Schoeman's  new  dam  and  house,  costing 
thousands  of  pounds,  completed  as  soon  as  the  railway 
had  been  granted. 

The  only  justification  which  can  be  found  for  English- 
men who  used  means  which  are  universally  condemned 
in  the  Mother  Country  is  that  without  something  of 
the  kind  it  was  really  impossible  to  carry  through 
any  business  in  Pretoria.  The  crowd  of  lawyers, 
agents,  and  Government  sharks  (the  Third  Volksraad, 
with  their  chairman,  Mr.  Julius  Keizer,  who  held  their 
sittings  in  Mr.  Paul  Nel  the  attorney's  office),  was  so 
keen  that,  directly  a  genuine  attempt  was  made  to 
obtain,  in  a  perfectly  straightforward  manner.  Govern- 
ment assistance.  Government  fixed  a  price,  and  that 
price  had  first  to  be  paid. 

A  fresh  factor  arose  in  the  acquisition  of  Matabele- 
land.  The  rumour  of  Mr.  Rhodes'  intentions  was 
conveyed  to  General  Joubert,  the  friend  of  Loben- 
gula,  and  caused  considerable  anxiety  to  the  Govern- 
ment. The  net  result  of  this  was  the  purchase  of  large 
quantities  of  ammunition,  and  an  order  for  10,000,000 
cartridges  was  partially  placed  with  Messrs.  Kynoch 
and  Co.,  of  Birmingham. 

General  Joubert  was  much  exasperated  at  the  pros- 
pect of  the  Transvaal  being  closed  in  on  the  north ;  but 
Kruger,  who  knew  the  country,  did  not  think  much  of 
its  possibilities,  and  thought  that  if  he  obtained  Swazie- 
land  as  a  quid  pro  quo  he  would  be  doing  better  business. 
The  consequence  was  the  i8go  Conference  at  Fourteen 
Streams,  when  President  Kruger  met  Sir  Henry  Loch 
and  Mr.  Rhodes. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  a  certain  policy  was  then 
agreed  upon  in  connection  with  Swazieland,  though  the 
matter  was  to  be  discussed  again  when  the  northern 
extension  had  been  assented  to  by  the  Raad. 

This  was  a  very  ticklish  time  for  Mr.  Rhodes'  trans- 


io8  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

African  scheme.  General  Joubert  was  dead  against  it, 
and  to  his  determined  opposition  must  be  traced  the 
delay  in  carrying  through  the  Convention  abandoning 
all  claims  to  the  north  on  the  part  of  the  Transvaal. 
At  one  time  things  looked  black,  but  the  soothing  influ- 
ence of  Mr.  Hofmeyr,  who  journeyed  up  to  calm  his 
friends  and  reassure  them  that  Sw^azieland  should  yet 
be  theirs,  patched  matters  up. 

On  the  question  of  expediency,  it  was  perhaps  policy 
to  abandon  the  Swazies,  but  on  moral  grounds  it  was 
indefensible.  The  argument  which  was  used  in  favour 
of  it  was  that  Umbandine,  the  King  of  the  Swazies, 
had  given  concessions  to  Boer  agents  for  everything 
worth  having  in  the  country.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
most  of  these  concessions  were  invalid,  and  would 
never  have  held  water  in  an  English  court  of  law,  but 
the  majority  of  them  were  ratified  by  a  special  Court 
held  in  Swazieland.  Another,  but  a  worse,  argument 
was  that  England  was  bound  to  have  trouble  with  the 
Transvaal  sooner  or  later,  when  she  could  take  the 
country  back  again. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Swazies  gave  in 
without  a  struggle.  They  sent  a  deputation  to  England, 
under  the  leadership  of  Mr.  Attorney  Hulett,  which 
did  good  work,  but  could  get  no  satisfaction  from  the 
Colonial  Secretary,  who  was  already  pledged  to  abandon 
the  country.  The  only  man  to  do  anything  for  them 
was  Sir  E.  Ashmead-Bartlett,  M.P.  (Silomo),  who 
brought  the  betrayal  of  the  Swazie  nation  prominently 
before  Parliament.  The  net  consequence  of  the  visit 
has  been  the  killing-off  in  the  present  war,  by  natives 
alleged  to  be  in  the  pay  of  the  Boers,  of  some  of  the 
native  members  of  the  deputation,  as  also  such  of  the 
headmen  as  were  friends  of  England.  For  the  time, 
anyhow,  the  last  of  the  British  native  allies  were  handed 
over  to  the  tender  mercies  of  Krugerism. 


BOERS,  CAPITALISTS,  AND  CHARTEREDS        109 

The  signing  of  the  Swazieland  Convention  was  made 
the  subject  of  a  great  demonstration  when  Lord  Loch 
visited  Pretoria.  The  Government  buildings  were  fitted 
up  as  reception-rooms,  and  seated  under  a  canopy,  Lord 
and  Lady  Loch  received  the  inhabitants  of  Pretoria. 
The  loving-cup  was  passed  round,  and  all  seemed 
peace  and  joy  and  contentment. 

But  the  Joubert  party  were  not  at  all  disposed  to 
allow  the  occupation  of  Charterland  to  take  place  with- 
out a  strong  protest.  Acting  under  a  certain  conces- 
sion granted  over  Banjailand,  a  big  strip  of  Mashona- 
land,  they  arranged  to  trek  there,  and  found  a  new 
Republic.  Mr.  Rhodes  was  naturally  active  in  his 
opposition,  which  eventually  produced  a  proclamation 
from  President  Kruger  forbidding  the  movement,  so 
that  it  collapsed. 

The  one  idea  of  the  President  in  obtaining  the  con- 
trol of  Swazieland  was  that  the  Swazies  held  territorial 
rights  over  a  portion  of  Amatongaland  which  borders 
on  the  sea,  and  includes  the  so-called  harbour  of  Kosi 
Bay.  His  ambition  to  obtain  a  seaport  was  the  reason 
why  the  northern  policy  of  Mr.  Rhodes  obtained  his 
support ;  but  for  this  he  would  never  have  assented  to 
it.  How  his  ambition  was  defeated  will  form  the  sub- 
ject of  another  chapter. 

Still,  the  terms  of  the  Convention  were  not  alto- 
gether to  Mr.  Kruger's  liking,  and  he  therefore  declined 
in  toto  to  enter  into  the  Customs  Union,  even  with  the 
bait  of  a  right  of  way  through  Swazieland  and  a  ten 
miles  square  site  for  a  port.  The  fact  that  Mr.  Rhodes 
had  tried  to  bounce  him  into  joining  the  union,  and  the 
feeling  that  owing  to  the  influence  of  that  gentleman 
he  was  fast  losing  grip  of  the  Africander  Bond,  were 
matters  of  concern  to  him.  With  all  his  doubts,  he  still 
looked  on  Mr.  Rhodes  as  republican  at  heart ;  the  man 
who  had  at  all  times  denounced  the    imperial  factor, 


no  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

and  expressed  contempt  for  mere  parish-pump  politics, 
he  felt  was  yet  sound  on  the  main  issue.  But  here  he 
was  mistaken  ;  the  success  of  the  northern  policy,  the 
interest  and  support  it  received  from  the  highest  sources, 
showed  Mr.  Rhodes  that  only  under  the  British  flag 
could  his  plans  succeed,  and  from  that  moment  his 
policy  changed  :  the  step  from  a  *  young  burgher  '  of  the 
South  African  Republic  to  Premier  of  a  United  South 
Africa  was  not  such  a  great  one.  Only  on  one  occasion, 
in  1894,  did  Mr.  Rhodes  fall  back  from  his  set  purpose, 
and  that  backsliding  was  fatal  to  his  subsequent  en- 
deavours. 

Signs  were  not  wanting  that  the  Uitlanders  were 
greatly  dissatisfied  with  the  Government.  In  i8go,  on 
the  occasion  of  the  President's  visit  to  Johannesburg,  the 
Transvaal  flag  was  torn  down,  and  the  house  of  Captain 
von  Brandis,  where  the  President  was  staying,  besieged 
by  an  angry  crowd,  who  wished  to  make  known  their 
opinion  as  to  the  way  in  which  the  Government  was 
treating  them.  A  Mr.  Rogaly,  who  is  at  present  with 
Thorneycroft's  Mounted  Infantry,  was  accused  of  pulling 
down  the  flag,  and  he  was  arrested  with  others  and 
thrown  into  gaol,  bail  being  refused.  The  British 
agent,  Mr.  Ralph  Williams,  an  excellent  specimen  of 
the  true  English  gentleman,  and  as  such  so  entirely 
unfitted  for  the  handling  of  diplomatic  questions,  was 
much  annoyed  at  this  summary  treatment  of  British 
subjects.  He  was  supposed  to  have  sent  the  President 
an  ultimatum  on  the  subject,  which  the  latter  promptly 
telegraphed  to  Cape  Town  for  confirmation.  It  has 
never  been  ascertained  whether  there  was  truth  in  this 
rumour,  but  it  is  a  fact  that  shortly  afterwards  Mr. 
Williams  left  Pretoria  for  Gibraltar,  and  Mr.  Hofmeyr 
made  his  usual  visit  to  Pretoria  at  this  juncture. 

Uitlander  grievances  had  so  far  not  formed  a  subject 
of  practical    politics,   but    'coming   events   cast    their 


BOERS,  CAPITALISTS,  AND  CHARTEREDS        in 

shadows  before.'  The  first  real  attempt  at  organizing 
any  poHtical  body  was  made  in  1892,  when  many 
of  the  thinking  men  of  Johannesburg,  outside  the 
capitahst  class,  banded  themselves  together  into  what 
was  known  as  the  National  Union.  The  objects  of  this 
body,  as  set  forth  in  its  constitution,  were:  (i)  The 
maintenance  of  the  independence  of  the  Republic,  and 
(2)  the  obtaining  of  a  reasonable  share  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  country.  This  programme  proves  that 
this  body  was  formed  on  purely  republican  lines,  so 
that  it  appealed  to  the  progressive  minority  among  the 
Boers.  This  section  acknowledged  the  leadership  of 
General  Joubert,  and  the  moving  spirit  of  the  party 
was  Ewald  Esselen,  formerly  one  of  the  judges  and 
subsequently  State  Attorney  of  the  Transvaal,  a  re- 
markably fascinating  man,  whom  everyone  liked  outside 
of  politics,  in  which  he  subsequently  cut  a  very  sorry 
figure.  As  the  Presidential  election  was  coming  off 
shortly,  to  be  followed  by  many  elections  for  the 
Volksraad,  it  was  resolved  that  a  determined  effort 
should  be  made  to  get  a  Progressive  Government  into 
power.  To  this  end  thousands  of  pounds  were  sub- 
scribed by  the  more  enlightened  of  the  capitalist  class, 
who  had  long  feared  the  grasping  tactics  of  the  Kruger 
party.  Mr.  Kruger's  election  fund  was  also  swelled, 
the  foreigners  and  the  Jews  putting  their  money  on 
him.  Everything  turned  on  the  change  of  President  ; 
and  Mr.  Kruger  was  able  to  secure  a  nominal  majority 
at  the  polls,  which  was  turned  into  a  reahty  by  the 
action  of  Mr.  Schalk  Burger,  a  Joubertite  (one  of  the 
Commission  to  inquire  into  the  election),  who  ratted, 
and  voted  for  the  return  of  Kruger.  The  Joubertites 
were  frantic  with  rage  ;  one  of  them,  subsequently  a 
member  of  the  Second  Volksraad,  said  in  the  writer's 
presence  he  would  willingly  pay  ;^i,ooo  to  the  man 
who  would  shoot  the  President.    They  implored  Joubert 


112  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

to  refuse  to  submit,  and  to  fight  it  out  if  necessary ;  but 
the  General,  who  was  as  weak  as  water,  decided  that, 
however  great  the  sacrifice,  he  could  not  consent  to 
divide  the  country  on  the  issue.  A  stronger  man 
would  have  hazarded  a  coup  d'etat,  but  Slim  Piet  was  no 
match  for  his  old  rival,  whose  motto  is  to  get  home 
by  any  means,  fair  or  foul. 

This  practically  closed  the  chapter  of  constitutional 
attempts  for  good  government  in  the  Transvaal ;  had  the 
efforts  of  the  Uitlanders  been  successful,  and  the  new 
population  given  some  small  share  in  the  government, 
the  tide  might  still  have  set  in  for  a  republican  South 
Africa.  As  yet  the  majority  of  English  people  had  not  re- 
covered from  the  cruel  blow  which  the  '  great  betrayal ' 
of  1881  had  struck,  and  their  last  thought  would  have 
been  to  appeal  to  the  Imperial  Government  for  redress. 

Lord  Randolph  Churchill's  visit  to  the  Transvaal 
and  Rhodesia  gave  some  of  the  Boer  papers  a  welcome 
opening  to  take  his  lordship  and  the  Chartered  Com- 
pany to  task. 

1893  saw  the  first  Matabele  War,  The  fate  of 
Lobengula  was  the  cause  of  some  anxiety  in  negro- 
philistic  circles ;  not  only  among  the  English,  but 
more  especially  among  the  Boers.  General  Joubert's 
friendly  letter  to  Lobengula  has  often  been  quoted, 
and  the  chief  had  always  thought  that  at  a  pinch  he 
could  rely  to  some  extent  upon  Transvaal  assistance. 
When  war  became  a  certainty,  he  promptly  despatched 
messengers  to  his  Transvaal  friends.  This  resulted  in 
the  formation  of  a  syndicate  called  the  Six  Syndicate, 
of  which  the  late  Henning  Pretorius  was  chairman. 
Its  object  was  to  render  him  any  assistance  in  their 
power,  if  at  the  same  time  they  could  assure  for  them- 
selves a  sufficient  quid  pro  quo.  They  advised  him 
first  of  all  to  make  no  defence  to  the  armed  forces  of 
the  Chartered  Company,  but  let  them  march  into  the 


BOERS,  CAPITALISTS,  AND  CHARTEREDS        113 

country  unopposed,  adding  that  Commandant  Pre- 
torius  and  another  member  of  the  syndicate  would 
proceed  at  once  to  Matabeleland  for  the  purpose  of 
negotiating  between  the  opposing  parties.  When  these 
gentlemen  had  left  Pretoria  on  their  mission,  a  wire 
was  despatched  to  the  High  Commissioner,  Sir  Henry 
Loch,  stating  that  war  was  unnecessary,  and  that  the 
gentlemen  above  mentioned  were  on  their  way  to  arrange 
matters  with  Lobengula.  They  were  promptly  informed 
that  on  crossing  the  frontier  they  would  be  arrested,  as 
a  state  of  war  existed  between  Her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment and  the  Matabele  chief,  and  they  were  forbidden 
any  sort  of  communication.  Commandant  Pretorius, 
next  in  rank  to  General  Joubert  in  command  of  the 
forces  of  the  Transvaal,  nevertheless  did  cross  the 
border  safely,  and  was  met  by  messengers  from  Lo- 
bengula, stating  that  he  was  unable  to  keep  back  his 
young  bloods.  It  was  therefore  evident  that  intervention 
was  hopeless,  so  the  party  returned  to  the  Transvaal 
without  accomplishing  anything. 

The  Six  Syndicate  in  South  Africa,  as  Mr.  Labouchere 
in  England,  thus  failed  to  stop  the  course  of  events,  and 
with  its  failure  practically  ended  the  attempt  to  stay  the 
British  advance  towards  Northern  Africa. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE    APPEAL    TO    CESAR 

During  all  these  years  abuses  were  heaped  on  abuses 

by  the  so-called    Government    of  the   Transvaal.      It 

would  lead  too  far  to  cope  in  any  way  exhaustively 

with  them  ;  but  a  few  more  demand  mention,  because 

thej^  show  the  condition  the  country  was  in  and  the 

unblushing  way  in  which  those  in  authority  acted.    We 

call  to  mind  a  case  in  which  the  question  of  the  validity 

of  a  promise  of  shares  in  a  valuable  gold-mine  to  an 

official  in  consideration  of  his  using  his  influence  with 

the  Government  was  actually  brought  before  the  High 

Court.     Mr.  Montagu  White,  the  representative  of  the 

Transvaal  in  London,  was  the  plaintiff  in  the  case,  and 

a  large  mining  company  was  involved  in  the  defence. 

Unfortunately  the  only  question  which  the  Court  had 

to  decide  was  whether  there  was  a  valid  contract  or  not, 

and  as  the  evidence  produced  bore  solely  upon  that  fact, 

judgment  was  given  in  favour  of  the  plaintiff.     It  was 

stated  at  the  time  that  certain  high-placed  officials  were 

greatly  advantaged   by  this   decision,   as   some   17,000 

shares   were    said    to    have    been    divided,    of    which 

Mr.  White's  own  share  amounted  to  800  only.     The 

arrangement  was  made  when  the  market  value  of  the 

share  was  near  par,  but  when  the  action  was  brought 

for   specific   performance   the   price  had  advanced   to 

£^  or  £6  per  share. 


THE  APPEAL  TO  C/ESAR  115 

It  is  to  be  presumed  that  the  Transvaal  Government 
selected  Mr.  White  as  the  best  man  they  could  get  for 
the  important  post  of  delegate  to  Great  Britain  ;  and 
no  doubt  his  record  was  satisfactory  as  compared  with 
that  of  some  of  the  other  officials. 

But  what  about  the  higher  politics  of  Messrs.  Kruger 
and  Leyds  ?  Were  these  gentlemen  sitting  still  while  the 
more  farcical  part  of  the  comedy  was  being  played  ?  No  ; 
the  foundations  were  being  laid  to  strengthen  the  power 
of  Krugerism  with  a  secrecy  and  despatch  which  augured 
well  for  future  success.     And  meantime  Caesar  slept ! 

The  National  Bank  and  Mint  was  floated  under  the 
aegis  of  Mr.  Lippert,  and  how  important  this  institution 
was  to  the  success  of  republican  designs  we  can  see 
to-day.  What  use  would  have  been  the  gold  stolen 
from  the  Transvaal  mines  without  a  mint  to  coin  it  ? 
The  bank  also  became  the  channel  through  which  pay- 
ments of  a  secret  nature  could  be  made,  and  financial 
business  arranged  where  other  agencies  would  have 
failed.  These  transactions  took  place  both  in  Europe 
and  Africa.  Its  officers  were  of  a  different  stamp  to 
those  in  the  Government,  and  its  secrets  have  been  well 
preserved.  Many  of  the  directors  of  the  bank  have  been 
able  and  honest  men,  but  as  burghers  of  the  Transvaal 
they  had,  unless  they  resigned,  no  option  but  to  follow 
that  country's  policy,  even  if  they  saw  through  the 
secret  intrigues,  of  which  they  may  have  been  unwilling 
tools.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  was  but  one  policy 
and  one  reason  for  all  the  secret  preparation — viz.,  to 
satisfy  the  personal  ambition  of  Mr.  Kruger. 

The  opposition  and  hatred  to  everything  English 
continued  to  manifest  itself  in  the  debates  of  the  Volks- 
raad,  more  especially  on  the  subject  of  the  franchise, 
which  year  after  year  had  been  the  subject  of  such 
restrictions  as  Kruger  had  determined  to  adopt  to 
secure  the  realization  of  his  aims. 

8—2 


n6  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

Deputations  from  the  unenfranchised  were  received 
by  the  President  with  obloquy,  and  members  of  the 
Raad  invited  the  Uitlanders  to  fight  for  the  right  to 
vote  if  they  wanted  it ;  but  the  Government  took  very 
great  care  to  see  they  were  kept  without  arms. 

Expostulation  had  no  effect,  though  as  a  remedy  the 
Uitlanders  were  informed  they  could  naturalize  and 
become  burghers  of  the  second  class,  who  within  a 
reasonable  period  could  vote  for  the  Second  Volksraad, 
an  emasculate  institution,  which  was  without  power 
of  any  kind,  being  entirely  subservient  to  the  First 
Volksraad. 

The  governorship  of  Sir  Hercules  Robinson  at  the 
Cape — the  knowledge  that  he  was  unfavourable  to  inter- 
vention of  any  kind  in  the  Republic — deterred  the  British 
population  from  making  representations  to  him.  Still, 
cases  of  individual  injustice  were  often  reported  to  the 
High  Commissioner,  unfortunately  without  much  result. 
The  little  country  villages  were  all  very  well  to  live  in 
if  you  buried  your  independence,  and  winked  at  all 
abuses,  because  ways  and  means  were  always  found  of 
disarming  criticism. 

There  were  exceptions,  of  course,  to  the  general  run 
of  dishonesty.  All  the  officials  were  not  venal ;  there 
were  a  good  few  honest  men  among  them,  mostly 
Africanders  from  the  Free  State  and  Cape  Colony. 
But  the  opposition  even  among  them  to  every 
English  influence  acted  as  a  dead  wall.  The  preference 
to  Hollanders  and  foreigners  over  the  British  on  every 
occasion ;  the  vast  immigration  of  undesirable  foreign 
aliens,  which  was  purposely  encouraged  in  every  way 
by  the  Government ;  their  exclusive  employment  on 
the  Netherlands  Railway,  in  the  dynamite  factory, 
and  the  Government  offices,  even  to  the  exclusion  of 
Africanders,  showed  that  the  policy  of  the  Government 
was   to   strengthen    its   position   by  the  restriction  of 


THE  APPEAL  TO  C^SAR  117 

British  immigration,  and  the  increase  of  the  foreign 
population  to  the  utmost  hmit  which  the  country  could 
support.  Year  by  year  the  British  preponderance 
was  slowly  but  surely  diminished.  In  1890  four-fifths 
of  the  alien  population  were  British ;  in  1894  it  is 
doubtful  if  three-fourths  represented  the  correct  pro- 
portion. The  Government  encouraged  the  influential 
men  of  the  foreign  communities  by  granting  them 
concessions,  favours,  and  lucrative  positions  in 
the  Government  employ,  thus  establishing  a  bond 
between  themselves  and  the  different  sections.  A  large 
proportion  of  these  people  were  men  who  had  been 
through  a  military  training  in  the  countries  of  their 
birth,  and  everything  was  done  to  get  the  leaders  to 
become  burghers  of  the  Transvaal  ;  the  rank  and  file 
did  not  matter — they  would  follow  as  a  matter  of  course. 
Ways  and  means  could  always  be  devised  in  the  Trans- 
vaal of  modifying  the  franchise  laws  to  suit  any  extra- 
ordinary case,  and  where  the  non-burgher  was  a  desirable 
person,  he  got  his  rights  for  some  imaginary  service 
without  waiting  for  many  years,  which  was  the 
lot  of  the  unfortunate  Britisher  who  took  the  oath  of 
allegiance.  The  one  obstacle  in  the  way  of  completing 
this  idea  of  foreign  preponderance  was  the  superiority 
of  the  British  as  a  mining  and  commercial  communit)-. 
Could  the  foreign  capitalists  have  substituted  foreign 
miners  with  equally  good  results,  no  doubt  they  would 
have  done  so,  and  this  would  have  very  much  simplified 
the  problem  for  Mr.  Kruger. 

So  much  has  been  written  on  the  franchise  question 
and  the  industrial  grievances  that  it  is  unnecessary  to 
enter  into  it  at  length.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  Presi- 
dent's policy  in  this  particular  can  be  traced  as  follows: 

1.  Old  Grond-Wet :  The  possession  of  property  or 
residence  for  one  year  qualified  for  the  franchise. 

2.  1882  :  In  spite  of  the  President's  statement  to  the 


ir8  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

Royal  Commission  that  no  difference  would  be  made 
between  persons  of  mature  age  and  the  old  burghers 
as  regards  the  franchise,  it  was  raised  to  five  years' 
residence.  Proof:  the  Veldcornets' books,  and  very  bad 
proof,  too,  in  some  instances. 

3.  i8go :  This  law  was  very  cleverly  drawn  up  to 
escape  undue  attention.  It  provides  that  *  all  persons 
naturalized  previous  to  the  law  come  in  under  the  old 
privileges — that  the  right  of  vote  for  a  Second  Raad 
now  created  would  be  given ;  but  it  was  necessary  to 
be  eligible  for  ten  years  for  election  to  the  Second  Raad 
before  one  could  aspire  to  the  higher  privilege  of  voting 
for  the  First  Volksraad.'  This  made  the  term  of  proba- 
tion fourteen  years. 

4.  1891-93:  Minor  alterations  were  made  in  the  law; 
but  it  was  not  substantially  altered,  being  deemed  a 
sufficient  barrier.  A  serious  condition,  however,  was 
put  in  in  1893,  it  being  necessary  to  get  the  assent  by 
vote  of  the  First  Volksraad  before  one  could  become  a 
full  burgher. 

5.  Law  3  of  1894 :  This  was  the  finishing  touch.  It 
provided  that  the  would-be  burgher,  after  serving  four- 
teen years'  apprenticeship,  and  being  at  least  forty  years 
of  age,  would  only  be  entitled  to  register  a  vote  for  the 
First  Volksraad,  provided  a  majority  of  the  burghers  in 
his  ward  signified  their  assent  in  writing  to  his  obtaining 
it.  In  addition,  the  law  disfranchised  all  children  born 
of  Uitlanders  in  the  country,  the  law  being  retrospec- 
tive in  this  particular. 

The  only  reason  which  can  be  given  for  the  passing 
of  these  laws,  and  particularly  the  last  of  them,  was  the 
fact  that  petitions  signed  in  one  case  by  some  13,000 
aliens  had  alarmed  the  President,  who  played  upon  the 
prejudices  of  the  members  of  the  Raad,  the  majority  of 
whom  were  in  sympathy  with  his  Uitlander  policy. 

The  last  changes  in  the  franchise  were  particularly 


THE  APPEAL  TO  C/ESAR  119 

exasperating,  and  coming  at  a  time  of  comparative 
political  calm,  they  had  the  effect  of  alienating  the 
whole  British  community  from  the  Government.  Their 
basis  was  found  in  the  bitter  hatred  and  detestation  for 
everything  British,  and  their  existence  thus  became  a 
continued  menace  to  the  peace  of  South  Africa.  The 
Government  said :  Join  us  on  our  own  terms,  and  we 
will  treat  you  better  later  on.  Fight  for  us  -and  we 
may  perhaps  relent.  But  you  must  prove  that  you  are 
so  reformed  as  to  be  anti-English  and  sound  on  the 
subject  of  the  destruction  of  British  supremacy  in  South 
Africa,  and  the  firm  establishment  of  Boer  predominance. 
Join  with  us,  lose  your  individuality  and  nationality, 
become  absorbed,  and  you  will  find  no  difficulty  with 
our  laws.  Refuse,  and  take  the  consequences.  These 
were  the  Boer  arguments,  and  in  some  cases  they 
found  adherents,  more  especially  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts, where  it  meant  much  whether  a  man  was  a 
burgher  or  not.  The  same  applied  to  the  store-keepers 
and  merchants,  who  could  not  expect  to  get  a  share  of 
the  Government  favours,  unless  they  became  burghers 
of  the  Republic. 

The  deceptive  calm  with  which  the  community  re- 
garded the  passing  of  the  latter  franchise  laws  decided 
the  President  to  execute  his  final  coup,  the  employment 
of  British  subjects  as  mercenary  troops,  and  to  decide 
by  this  test  whether  they  should  be  specially  admitted 
to  the  Republic,  or  not. 

Although  the  Uitlanders  were  heavily  taxed  indirectly, 
no  murmur  of  discontent  was  heard.  Their  petitions  on 
the  subject  of  the  franchise  had  been  ignored  and  treated 
with  scorn.  They  seemed  to  have  but  one  god,  and 
that  god  was  Mammon.  Would  they  surely  fight  when 
their  idol  was  threatened  with  destruction  ? 

Rather  than  risk  it,  better  to  throw  them  a  bone,  to 
Africanderize  them  and  make  them  part  of  the  fighting 


I20  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

machine  which  was  to  dominate  Africa.     The  scheme 
was  perfect,  but  it  came  just  a  Httle  too  late. 

It  seems  as  if  Providence,  which  in  earlier  time  barred 
the  way  of  Napoleon,  had  destined  Paul  Kruger  to  find 
that  scheming  and  hypocrisy,  without  the  greatness  of 
the  former,  could  not  save  him  from  a  similar  fate. 
Pretoria  had  the  honour  of  raising  the  standard  of 
opposition  ;  even  as  her  sons  in  1881  had  held  in  check 
the  Boer  forces,  so  in  1894  they  frustrated  the  plans 
which  threatened  to  culminate  at  a  later  date  in  disaster 
to  the  Mother  Country.  They  cried  a  halt  to  the  policy 
of  'Africa  for  the  Africanders,'  and  had  England  then 
responded,  the  South  African  question  would  have  been 
settled,  perhaps  without  a  blow. 

A  Republic,  '  broad  based  upon  the  people's  will,'  a 
franchise  obtained,  not  through  the  clemency  of  Kruger, 
but  through  the  determination  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment to  see  right  and  justice  done,  would  then  have 
formed  an  impassable  barrier  to  Krugerian  ambitions.  A 
settlement  upon  these  lines  would  have  bound  the  Uit- 
landers  fast  to  the  Imperial  Government  in  a  new  bond 
of  union,  if  coupled  with  a  determination  to  reverse  the 
policy  of  the  Transvaal  Government,  and  to  make  the 
people  of  the  country  feel  that  their  so-called  enemies 
were  their  best  friends.  A  prompt  elimination  of  the 
agents  of  corruption  should  have  secured  their  true 
independence,  with  a  policy  of  friendship  for  and  the 
assistance  of  England.  Once  this  was  accomplished 
a  plan  of  confederation  would  have  been  speedily 
adopted  by  the  different  States  and  colonies,  satis- 
fying the  voortrekker  and  strengthening  the  Empire. 

A  little  cloud  crossed  the  horizon — a  cloud  of  loyalty 
that  refused  to  die  away.  Perchance  some  father  in 
the  dear  Motherland  had  impressed  those  lessons  of 
patriotism  on  his  child,  in  the  old  abbeys  and 
cathedrals  which   teem  with    incentives  to  a   love    of 


THE  APPEAL  TO  C^SAR  121 

one's  country,  and  that  little  seed  was  destined  to  bear 
rich  fruit.  England  might  fail,  but  her  sentinels  must 
watch,  and  wait,  and  pray,  and  believe  that,  whatever 
happened,  the  land  where  justice  rules  would  surely  not 
turn  a  deaf  ear  in  this  hour  of  need. 

The  hope  was  faint,  and  it  did  not  find  expression  in 
the  homes  of  the  rich.  The  capitalists  were  busy 
preparing  for  a  boom  which  would  eclipse  all  others, 
that  boom  which  collapsed  on  the  failure  of  the  Jameson 
Raid.  The  Government  officials,  busily  filling  their 
pockets,  saw  it  not ;  what  had  they  to  fear  ?  was  not 
all  the  wealth  and  influence  on  their  side  ?  The  Imperial 
factor  was  dead ;  the  Africander  Bond  and  Mr.  Rhodes 
in  the  past  had  done  their  best  to  kill  that  idea.  What 
could  a  few  poor  Loyalists  do  ?  What  they  did,  and 
how  they  did  it,  it  is  our  duty  to  relate.  Those  efforts 
have  not  been  accorded  the  doubtful  blessings  of 
publicity ;  the  incidents  have  been  suppressed  in  the 
glamour  of  the  Raid.  It  was  a  little  business,  with 
no  press  to  boom  it  across  the  sea,  with  no  Court  of 
Appeal  but  to  Her  Majesty's  High  Commissioner.  No 
funds  behind  it,  only  the  loyal  hearts  of  the  British 
working  men  and  women,  with  a  few  professional  men, 
and  the  Loyalists  of  Johannesburg,  who  saw  eye  to  eye 
with  Pretoria,  that  nothing  could  be  wrung  from  Kruger 
except  hy  force. 

That  is  why  we  made  our  appeal  to  Caesar.  Where 
else  could  we  turn  for  help  ? 

To-day  the  papers  are  full  of  South  Africa ;  recently 
no  incident,  however  trifling,  is  unreported  across  the 
water.  In  1894  the  way  was  barred,  Renter's  was  the 
only  news  agency;  Leo  Weinthal,  at  that  time  Presi- 
dent Kruger's  very  good  friend,  was  their  representative. 
Not  a  word  reached  Europe  which  was  not  tainted  with 
the  views  of  the  Boer  Government.  Special  corre- 
spondents were  few  and  far  between,  cables  were  costly. 


122  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

and  yet  the  voice  of  the  people  was  so  distinct  and 
so  clear  that  the  President  trembled,  and  his  advisers 
"ught  assistance  from  the  capitalists — those  whom 
they  now  despise — to  weaken  the  chastening  hand  of 
the  Empire. 

We  related  in  the  early  part  of  this  book  how  certain 
Kaffir  tribes  in  the  Northern  Zoutpansburg  had  proved 
themselves  unwilling  to  be  subject  to  the  Boer  Govern- 
ment ;  how  President,  then  Commandant,  Kruger  was 
forced  to  retire  before  them  at  Schoemansdal,  practi- 
cally abandoning  to  the  natives  the  whole  of  the  country 
north  of  Marabastadt.  During  the  English  occupation 
these  tribes  came  peaceably  under  control,  and  during 
the  war  the  head  chief,  Magato,  did  all  he  could  to 
protect  the  English  in  his  district,  who  were  in  laager 
close  to  his  kraal,  with  the  result  the  Boers  wisely  left 
them  undisturbed.  He  also  offered  assistance  to  the 
British  authorities.  This  fact  alone  was  sufficient  to 
secure  the  doom  of  his  tribe  at  a  later  period.  Among 
the  minor  chiefs  was  one  named  Malaboch,  whose 
tribe  inhabited  a  range  of  hills  in  the  north-west  of 
the  Transvaal. 

News  reached  Pretoria  at  the  beginning  of  1894  that 
this  chief  refused  to  pay  his  taxes.  What  the  chief 
alleged  was  that  he  objected  to  paying  them  twice, 
once  to  Mr.  Vorster,  the  Native  Commissioner,  and 
again  to  the  Government. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  the  Executive  (the  Boer  Cabinet) 
resolved  to  put  into  operation  the  scheme  of  com- 
mandeering the  Uitlanders,  or,  to  be  correct,  the 
British  subjects,  as  nearly  all  other  nationalities  were 
absolved  by  treaty,  and  the  American  Government  refused 
to  recognise  the  right  of  any  Government  to  commandeer 
its  citizens.  To  commandeer  as  the  Boers  apply  the 
law  means  to  insist  on  free  military  service  being  ren- 
dered  by  everybody ;    it    also    authorizes   the    levy  of 


THE  APPEAL  TO  C/ESAR  123 

supplies,  to  be  furnished  without  remuneration,  both 
in  goods  and  money ;  the  only  English  equivalent  of 
this  practice  is  highway  robbery. 

The  Government  refused  to  entertain  the  idea  of  a 
paid  volunteer  corps  being  formed,  although  they  had 
over  a  million  sterling  in  the  Treasury. 

With  a  cleverness  born  of  long  practice  in  deceit, 
they  stated  that  British  subjects  had  been  abandoned 
by  their  Government,  as  the  1881  Convention  expressly 
provided  for  the  registration  of  British  subjects  then  in 
the  country,  which  would  prevent  them  being  com- 
mandeered, whereas  it  was  put  forward  that  those  who 
failed  to  comply  with  the  condition,  and  subsequent 
immigrants,  had  been  abandoned,  and  came  under  the 
commando  law.  The  supreme  cunning  of  this  policy 
can  be  at  once  perceived ;  nothing  better  could  be 
devised  to  break  down  the  pride  of  the  Britisher,  that 
last  vestige  of  self-respect  which  he  possessed  in  South 
Africa.  Like  sheep  led  to  the  slaughter,  they  were 
ordered  to  submit  to  this  fresh  degradation,  which 
would  effectually  wipe  out  the  last  spark  of  nationality, 
and  make  them  the  serfs  of  the  Boers,  to  be  absorbed 
by  them  at  their  sweet  will.  The  policy  which  made  of 
the  French  Huguenots  Dutchmen  was  being  applied  to  the 
British ;  in  one  case  it  had  been  a  success,  why  not  in  the 
other  ? 

Nothing  can  persuade  the  careful  observer  that  this 
move  was  the  thought  of  a  day ;  it  was  the  culmination 
of  a  policy  which  spelt  danger  in  big  letters  to  every 
loyal  Englishman. 

To  the  Loyalists  of  Pretoria  the  intentions  of  the 
Government  were  no  secret.  The  magnates  of  the 
Rand  had  no  time  to  bother  with  the  haute  politique  ; 
they  were  busy  with  the  haute  finance.  Let  Kruger  do 
as  he  liked  so  long  as  they  were  making  money,  but  let 
anyone  beware  who  interfered  with  their  plans  on  this 


124  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

score.  What  did  they  want  with  the  franchise  ? 
Other  hearts  were  still  sore  from  the  time  of  the  '  great 
betrayal,'  and  for  very  pride's  sake  would  have  seen 
*  the  bolt '  successful  rather  than  give  a  warning  to  the 
country  which  had  deserted  them. 

Meantime  the  Veldcornet  issued  notices  right  and  left : 
single  men,  married  men,  all,  except  men  who  could 
buy  themselves  off  with  substitutes  at  a  cost  of  £y^  or 
P^ioo,  poor  people  even  who  could  hardly  rake  sufficient 
together  to  keep  up  the  home  during  absence,  were  all 
swept  into  the  net.  Goods,  money,  and  horses  were 
requisitioned,  for  the  Boers  war  on  the  cheap,  and  in 
many  instances  the  Veldcornets  or  their  assistants 
carried  out  their  instructions  in  a  cruel  and  brutal 
manner,  more  particularly  as  regards  coloured  British 
subjects.  A  protest  would  now  and  then  secure  some 
slight  exemption  in  towns,  but  in  the  country  districts 
no  mercy  was  shown  to  the  unfortunate  English- 
men. The  Executive  awaited  the  result  of  compulsory 
enlistment  in  Pretoria  before  raising  the  strength  of 
their  forces  by  commandeering  thousands  from  Johan- 
nesburg, so  that  the  conquest  of  the  whole  of  the 
northern  tribes,  including  Magato,  might  be  accom- 
plished. Besides,  such  a  course  freed  a  number  of 
burghers  from  military  service,  on  which  they  are  by 
no  means  keen,  unless  it  is  against  the  verdomde  rooinek. 
This  was  necessary,  as  many  of  the  Progressive  burghers 
strongly  objected  to  fight  for  nothing,  and  Land  en 
Volk,  the  Joubert  party's  organ,  fought  hard  for  pay- 
ment. 

Unfortunately,  President  Kruger,  with  remarkable 
foresight,  had  secured  the  services  of  Mr.  Esselen  as 
State  Attorney  at  the  beginning  of  the  year,  beguiling 
him  with  specious  arguments  to  attempt  the  cleansing 
of  the  Augean  stable,  of  which  he  (the  President)  alone 
was   the   founder.     He  chuckled   when    the   bird   was 


THE  APPEAL  TO  C/ESAR  125 

caught,  for  now  he  could  put  his  plans  into  execution 
without  risk  of  interruption  from  the  Progressive  party, 
which  then  did  not  possess  his  confidence,  while  by  play- 
ing on  the  race  hatred  which  was  always  lying  dormant 
in  his  new  Attorney-General  he  felt  he  could  turn  his 
foe  into  an  ally,  who  would  serve  his  turn,  to  be  dis- 
carded when  no  longer  useful. 

Orders  to  join  the  commando  were  served  on  May  16, 
and  the  distress  caused  to  poor  people  who  received 
them  was  deplorable ;  on  all  sides  could  be  seen  the 
misery  caused  to  the  wives  and  children,  soon  to  be  left 
without  protectors  or  means  of  support.  To  whom 
were  they  to  turn  for  bread  when  the  bread-winner  was 
away  ?  And  what  if  he  never  returned  ?  The  Trans- 
vaal Government  do  not  provide  for  the  widows  and 
orphans  of  Englishmen  who  have  died  fighting  their 
battles.  Public  feeling  was  aroused,  and  it  was 
arranged  that  the  Veldcornet  himself  should  preside 
at  a  public  meeting  to  consider  the  question,  and 
request  the  Government  at  any  rate  to  pay  the  men 
ordered  to  the  front.  A  deputation  that  waited  on  the 
Government  was  severely  censured,  and  told  in  the 
straightest  terms  that  the  Government  would  brook  no 
opposition  to  its  policy.  The  Raad,  duly  instructed,  also 
resolved  by  twenty-one  votes  to  three  to  confirm  the 
action  of  the  Government.  The  Africander  section,  who 
at  first  had  seemed  prepared  to  assist  the  movement 
openly,  withdrew  from  giving  public  support.  What  other 
loophole  remained  now  ?  Men  on  every  side  implored 
the  leading  Uitlanders  for  assistance,  and  it  was  decided 
to  hold  another  meeting,  which  took  place  on  the  stoep 
of  the  Government  buildings,  the  tenour  of  the  speeches 
being  that  no  man  should  go  to  the  front  as  a  pressed 
man  unless  he  was  an  enfranchised  burgher  of  the 
country.  Mr.  Reno,  one  of  the  commandeered  men, 
came  forward,  and  boldly  stated  that  he  for  one  had 


126  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

determined  not  to  go  on  the  Government  terms,  a 
statement  causing  a  great  deal  of  umbrage  to  the 
Government  supporters,  who  tried  hard  to  make  a  dis- 
turbance. One  of  them,  Mr.  Hendrik  Schoeman, 
turned  to  Mr.  Reno,  saying:  'I  will  make  you  go  to 
the  front  if  I  tie  you  up  with  my  own  hands  and  throw 
you  on  the  wagon.'  But  his  remarks  were  drowned  in 
the  hooting  of  the  crowd,  which  had  not  relished  being 
called  rebels  by  the  same  gentleman  a  few  minutes 
before.  Over  a  thousand  persons  were  present,  and 
it  was  announced  that  the  same  evening  a  debate  would 
take  place  on  the  subject  '  Is  the  Commandeering 
Justifiable  ?'  at  the  ordinary  meeting  of  the  Pretoria 
Debating  Society,  an  influential  association  which  held 
its  meetings  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  assembly 
was  a  record  one  ;  the  church  was  packed,  and  hundreds 
were  turned  away. 

An  ominous  silence  filled  the  room  when  the  Rev. 
James  Gray,  the  chairman,  rose  to  address  his  audience. 
In  stern  and  uncompromising  terms  he  exposed  the 
iniquity  of  the  Government  in  forcing  free  men,  British 
subjects,  born  under  the  British  flag,  to  act  as  the  unpaid 
soldiers  of  a  Government  which  denied  them  the  smallest 
of  the  liberties  valued  by  independent  races.  To  compel 
men  to  abandon  their  families  to  fight  in  a  cause  which 
they  knew  nothing  of,  and  against  a  native  chief  who, 
from  all  they  heard,  was  the  aggrieved  party,  not  the 
aggressor,  was  an  indignity  not  to  be  tolerated.  Many 
speeches  were  made,  one  or  two  Government  supporters 
trying  to  make  out  a  case,  in  which  they  signally  failed. 
Towards  the  close  of  the  meeting  two  men  spoke 
whose  names  deserve  to  be  recorded  in  letters  of  gold 
wherever  the  English  language  is  spoken,  for  the  quiet 
yet  brilliant  work  which  they  have  done  for  British 
interests  in  the  Transvaal.  The  one  was  the  Rev. 
W.  J.  Underwood,  the  Wesleyan  minister  at  Pretoria, 


THE  APPEAL  TO  CAESAR  127 

and  Mr.  E.  Dusting,  afterwards  the  secretary  of  the 
Uitlanders'  Association.  Probably  none  of  our  readers 
have  heard  of  these  gentlemen,  the  one  a  minister  of 
the  Gospel,  striving  hard  to  do  his  duty,  though  his 
way  was  not  the  way  of  many  of  his  flock,  who  had 
obligations  to  the  Government ;  the  other  a  working 
jeweller.  But  the  Empire  had  need  of  them,  and  the 
hour  found  the  men. 

At  the  close  of  the  meeting  many  of  the  commandeered 
remained  behind,  and  forty  of  them  resolved  not  to 
answer  to  the  roll-call.  In  doing  this  they  exposed 
themselves  to  heavy  fines,  to  be  followed  by  imprison- 
ment. But  worse  was  to  follow :  the  Government, 
much  exercised  at  the  turn  things  were  taking,  insti- 
tuted one  of  those  secret  boycotts  for  which  the  Trans- 
vaal has  made  itself  so  famous.  No  one  knew  whence 
the  message  came.  But  an  employer  would  request 
his  employe  who  had  pledged  himself  to  resist  not  to 
do  so,  under  pain  of  losing  his  situation.  Men  who  were 
in  business  were  approached,  and  assured,  if  they  did 
not  follow  suit,  their  business  or  their  partners  (if  they 
had  any)  would  suffer.  Others  were  informed  that  a 
substitute  could  be  got  cheap,  and  assured  that  it  was  far 
better  to  avail  themselves  of  this  means  of  escape  than 
go  against  the  Government.  To  those  who  stood  firm 
the  suggestion  of  Government  appointments  was  made. 
Some  names  for  unspecified  reasons  were  taken  off 
the  list,  and  others  who  were  Government  supporters 
substituted.  Private  and  personal  influences  were 
used  on  all  sides  to  prevent  the  mandate  being  dis- 
obeyed. 

As  a  result  of  the  exertions  of  the  Government  and  a 
striking  testimony  to  the  pressure  and  terrorism  which 
was  brought  to  bear,  only  three  of  the  men  who  were 
at  the  meeting  in  the  Presbyterian  Church  stood  out  to 
the  end. 


128  THE  RISE  AND   FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

Meantime  a  committee,  composed  of  the  Revs.  Messrs. 
Underwood,  Gray,  and  Woofenden,  and  Messrs.  Dusting, 
Roberts,  Hess,  A.  E.  Smith,  Falconer,  and  others,  was 
formed  to  lay  the  case  before  the  British  Resident,  the 
first  public  appeal  to  the  British  Government  for  ten 
long  years. 

They  assembled  at  the  British  Residency  on  May  i8, 
1894,  and  were  received  with  a  courtesy  by  Sir  Jacobus 
de  Wet  which  augured  well  for  the  future.  A  son  of 
South  Africa,  a  strong  Loyalist,  who  had  fathomed  the 
mysteries  of  Krugerism  during  his  term  of  office,  he 
did  not  pause  to  inquire  if  those  assembled  were  men 
of  wealth  or  men  of  influence  ;  he  knew  their  cause  was 
a  just  one,  and  he  received  them  with  a  determination 
to  assist  with  all  his  power  in  removing  the  disabilities 
of  his  fellow-citizens. 

The  subject  was  thoroughly  discussed  with  Sir  Jacobus, 
who  assured  the  deputation  that  many  private  people 
had  been  to  see  him,  and  their  anxiety  was  so  great 
that  he  had  telegraphed  to  the  Administrator,  General 
Sir  William  Cameron,  acting  during  Sir  Henry  Loch's 
absence  in  England,  and  had  received  a  reply  saying  that 
Advocate  Searle's  opinion  was  that  the  Transvaal  Govern- 
ment were  within  their  legal  rights  in  insisting  on  the 
commandeering  of  British  subjects.  This  opinion  was 
totally  different  to  the  one  entertained  by  Advocates 
Leonard  and  Wessels,  the  leaders  of  the  Transvaal  Bar, 
and  it  seems  extraordinary  in  a  situation  such  as  this 
that  the  Administrator  did  not  consult  the  very  highest 
legal  opinion,  more  especially  as  other  Governments 
had  on  so  many  occasions  insisted  on  the  exemption  of 
their  subjects  from  forced  military  service  by  foreign 
powers.  Sir  Jacobus  said,  however,  that  he  was  so 
convinced  of  the  justice  of  our  case  that  he  was  pre- 
pared to  make  fresh  representations  on  our  behalf,  and 
with   his  assistance  a  telegram  was   drafted   to    Cape 


THE  APPEAL  TO  C^SAR  129 

Town,  with  the  request  that  it  should  be  forwarded  im- 
mediately to  the  Home  Government.  The  exact  words 
fail  us  now,  but  they  constituted  an  earnest  appeal  to 
the  Mother  Country  not  to  again  desert  her  subjects  at 
a  very  critical  moment. 

What  madness  possessed  British  Ministers  to  ignore 
the  cry  for  a  remedy  of  our  disabilities  ?  Alas !  the 
Little  Englanders  were  in  power,  with  only  one  Big 
Englander  amongst  them,  Lord  Rosebery,  and  our  fear 
that  he  would  be  '  Harcourted  '  was  correct.  Our  one 
hope  was  centred  in  Her  Majesty  the  Queen,  but  our 
cries  were  too  faint  to  reach  the  throne ;  had  she 
known,  is  it  not  possible  that  the  bloodshed  of  to-day 
might  never  have  occurred  ? 

What  were  the  legal  aspects  of  the  case  ?  For  this 
the  musty  tomes  which  guard  the  secrets  of  inter- 
national law  must  be  taken  down,  and  patient  research 
will  reveal  the  fact  that  never  in  the  history  of  the 
world  has  it  been  a  custom  to  compel  the  subjects  of  a 
friendly  State  to  fight  against  their  will  another  country's 
battles.  The  principle  that  without  citizenship  no  obli- 
gation to  military  service  is  incurred  is  as  old  as  the 
hills,  and  no  fine  reading  between  the  lines  of  Conven- 
tions could  alter  the  Grond-Wet  of  the  world's  liberty. 
But  the  Boers  were  content  to  sink  beneath  the  ancients, 
and  rank  with  barbarians  in  pursuing  a  policy  which 
appeared  to  have  the  tacit  approval  of  Her  Majesty's 
Government.  Had  we  not  felt  that  we  had  a  sympa- 
thetic man  in  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet,  the  die  might  have 
been  cast  and  the  Republic  accepted  on  any  terms ;  but 
for  him,  we  venture  to  say,  such  would  have  been  the 
case,  with  results  which  we  leave  others  to  evolve. 

The  reports  of  the  meetings  and  the  visit  to  the 
British  Agency  had  created  much  excitement  in 
Pretoria  and  Johannesburg,  and  efforts  were  made  by 
the   Government   to   discourage  the  movement.     The 

9 


I30  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

Government  organs,  the  Press,  the  Volksstem,  Standard 
and  Diggers'  News,  and  the  Transvaal  Mining  Argus, 
and  others,  were  duly  primed,  and  daily  hurled  venom 
and  invective  at  those  who  would  not  bow  the  knee  to 
Baal. 

Great  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  by  certain 
members  of  the  churches  to  which  the  clergymen  en 
the  committee  belonged,  the  consequence  of  which  was 
that  the  Rev.  James  Gray  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Woofenden 
had  with  great  reluctance  to  sever  their  connection 
with  it.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Underwood  refused  to  do  so 
under  any  consideration,  although  we  believe  the  con- 
sequences to  him  were  serious ;  he  certainly  left  for 
England  shortly  after.  The  excitement  increased  when 
it  was  known  that  warrants  were  being  taken  out  for  the 
arrest  of  the  Revs.  Messrs.  Underwood  and  Woofenden 
and  one  of  the  authors  of  this  book.  The  warrants 
were  actually  signed,  but  were  never  issued,  perhaps 
for  the  reason  that  an  enterprising  journalist,  Mr.  F.  J. 
Dormer,  of  the  Star,  had  cabled  to  the  Pall  Mall 
Gazette  that  the  arrest  was  an  accomplished  fact,  he 
having  been  told,  we  believe  by  the  State  Attorney, 
that  the  arrests  would  be  effected  a  few  moments 
before  he  despatched  the  wire.  Urgent  messages 
reached  the  three  gentlemen  to  destroy  any  incrimi- 
nating papers  without  delay,  but  they  had  none  to 
destroy,  except  perhaps  indiscreet  letters  from  sympa- 
thizers in  Johannesburg.  We  feel  sure  that  it  would- 
have  been  a  joy  to  these  gentlemen  to  become  the 
martyrs  of  this  tyranny,  but  the  subtle  cunning  of  the 
Krugerites  argued  that  it  would  be  better  diplomacy  to 
keep  the  warrants  hanging  over  their  heads — especially 
as  news  of  what  was  going  on  had  reached  England. 

The  committee  worked  day  and  night  at  their  self- 
appointed  task.  Letters  were  written  home  to  news- 
papers and  members  of  Parliament  to  try  and  interest 


THE  APPEAL  TO  C/ESAR  131 

them  in  our  cause,  but  with  faint  results.  Time  was 
flying ;  the  commandos  would  soon  be  leaving,  when  it 
would  be  too  late,  perhaps.  Urgently-worded  cables 
were  despatched  to  the  British  Government,  with  but 
little  effect.  Never,  surely,  had  Englishmen,  in  defiance 
of  the  expressed  opinion  of  the  British  Government's 
representative  on  the  spot,  been  treated  in  such  a 
manner.  The  last  excuse  was  that  nothing  could  be 
done  till  the  arrival  of  the  High  Commissioner,  Sir 
Henry  Loch,  who  was  fast  nearing  South  Africa  on 
his  return  from  England,  whence  his  departure  had 
been  accelerated  by  the  news  of  the  commandeering. 

However,  on  June  13  the  following  letter  was  tele- 
graphed to  the  British  Agent  by  the  Administrator, 
Sir  W.  G.  Cameron  : 

'  I  have  the  honour  to  acquaint  you  that  I  have  been  in  consulta- 
tion with  Her  Majesty's  Government  respecting  the  commandeer- 
ing of  British  subjects  now  being  carried  on  in  the  South  African 
Republic. 

'  The  question  has  been  very  carefully  considered  with  a  view  to 
meeting,  as  far  as  possible,  the  difficulties  of  the  situation,  and  in  a 
friendly  spirit  towards  the  Government  and  people  of  the  South 
African  Republic. 

'  I  desire,  therefore,  that  you  will  invite  the  attention  of  the 
Government  of  the  South  African  Republic  to  the  subject,  with  a 
view  to  a  withdrawal  of  the  military  obligations  which  have  been 
imposed  on  British  subjects  who  are  acknowledged  to  be  aliens, 
and  are  treated  as  such  in  all  other  respects. 

'  This  privilege  of  exemption  appears  to  have  been  already 
acknowledged  by  the  Government  of  the  South  African  Republic, 
for  in  his  despatch  to  Sir  Henry  Barkly,  dated  October  20,  1876, 
etc.,  the  late  President  Burgers  expressed  himself  as  follows  : 

' "  I  can  confidently  state,  however,  that  express  and  decided 
orders  were  issued  to  commanding  officers  to  call  out  only  citizens 
of  the  State,  and  not  to  exact  any  personal  military  service  from 
foreigners  unless  they  had  by  law  become  bo?id-Jide  subjects  of  the 
Republic,  and  had  claimed  and  exercised  their  rights  as  citizens  ; 
and  I  may  add  that  this  Government  is  not  only  desirous  to  observe 
the  rules  of  hospitality  followed  by  all  civilized  States  in  respect  to 
any  stranger  who  may  for  a  time  become  resident  in  the  Republic, 

9—2 


132  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

but  it  would  also  strongly  suppress  any  attempt  of  its  officials  to 
commit  a  breach  of  such  rules." 

'  Nothing  can  be  clearer  or  more  satisfactory  than  the  despatch 
of  President  Burgers,  and  I  enclose,  for  convenience  of  reference, 
a  copy  of  the  full  text. 

'  By  Article  29,  sub-section  E,  of  the  original  draft  of  the  Pretoria 
Convention,  British  subjects  were  exempted  from  all  military  service 
whatever,  and  this  stiptilation  was  accepted  by  Dr.  Jorissen  on 
behalf  of  the  Transvaal  delegates  in  the  Conference  of  July  15, 
1881.  (See  p.  98  of  C  3,219,  being  Part  2  of  the  Parliamentary 
paper  containing  the  reports  of  the  Royal  Commissioners.)  This 
engagement  was  not  apparently  embodied  in  the  Convention  sub- 
sequently signed,  but  it  may  fully  be  accepted  as  a  declaration  of 
policy.' 

'  I  may  also  point  out  that  during  the  American  Civil  War  British 
subjects  were,  on  the  representation  of  Her  Majesty's  Government, 
exempted  by  the  United  States  Government  from  compulsory 
military  service. 

'  In  view,  therefore,  of  these  considerations  and  of  the  past 
attitude  of  the  Government  of  the  South  African  Republic,  as 
well  as  of  their  action  in  exempting  subjects  of  several  foreign 
Governments  under  treaty,  Her  Majesty's  Government  hope  that 
the  Government  of  the  South  African  Republic  will  now  agree  to 
similar  exemptions  in  favour  of  our  people. 

'  I  shall  be  glad,  therefore,  if  you  will  as  soon  as  possible  press 
for  this  in  courteous  terms.  For  this  purpose  you  should  call  on 
the  State  Secretary,  and  after  explaining  to  him  the  object  of  your 
visit,  you  should  read  him  this  despatch,  and  leave  a  copy  with  him 
if  desired  to  do  so.' 

On  June  15  Mr.  Buxton,  Under-Secretary  for  the 
Colonies,  replying  to  a  question  in  the  House  of 
Commons,  said  that  Sir  William  Cameron  had  been 
instructed  to  ^res^  President  Kruger  courteously  to  exempt 
British  subjects  from  service.  This  reply  effectually 
prevented  any  good  resulting  from  the  despatch.  Mr. 
Esselen  the  State  Attorney's  interpretation  of  it  was, 
'  You  can  commandeer  British  subjects,  but  please 
don't.' 

On  June  22  Mr.  Buxton  informed  the  House  that 
the  Transvaal  Government  had  sent  no  reply  to  their 
request  re  non-commandeering  of  British  subjects.    But 


THE  APPEAL  TO  C/ESAR  133 

the  British  Government  on  the  previous  day — June  21 
— must  have  received  its  reply  indirectly,  for  on  that 
day  the  Transvaal  Government  arrested  the  comman- 
deered men,  and  sent  them  away  as  prisoners  to  the 
front.  On  June  22  they  arrested  and  imprisoned  in 
Pretoria  Gaol  for  refusing  to  go  to  the  front  a  British 
subject,  who  was  first  thrashed  by  the  Acting  Veld- 
cornet,  Mr.  Alphonse  Meintjes.  Such  was  the  Trans- 
vaal's answer,  which  would  have  caused  war  with  any 
other  country  but  England. 

Day  after  day  we  waited  on  the  British  Agent,  who 
still  counselled  patience,  and  said  the  British  Govern- 
ment must  interfere.  Negotiations  were  opened  with 
some  members  of  the  National  Union,  who  promised 
every  support,  which  was  loyally  rendered.  They 
despatched  an  urgent  cable  to  Lord  Rosebery,  stating 
'  that  bloodshed  would  ensue  unless  the  existing  state 
of  affairs  was  remedied.'  This  seemed  to  awaken  the 
sluggish  conscience  of  the  Ministry. 

Their  weakness  and  the  terrorism  of  Pretoria  had 
somewhat  damped  the  hopes  of  the  Britishers  who  had 
promised  not  to  serve,  for  only  three  were  steadfast. 
The  night  before  the  commandos  left  another  young 
fellow  (they  were  mainly  young  fellows)  was  persuaded 
to  resist,  and  on  the  same  day  a  loyal  Cape  Colonist,  by 
name  Van  Rooyen,  decided,  in  spite  of  the  opposition  of 
his  friends  and  family,  that  he  also  would  not  be  coerced  ; 
he  remained  firm,  notwithstanding  every  temptation 
from  Government  officials,  many  of  whom  were  his 
relatives.  Then  three  others  decided  at  the  last  moment 
that  they  would  not  serve,  and  thus  the  cause  was  won. 
Seven  men  were  determined  not  to  go  to  the  front,  one 
of  whom  had,  prior  to  taking  any  part  in  the  movement, 
sent  in  a  legal  objection  to  his  enlistment,  which  his 
advocates  advised  him  not  to  withdraw.  When  the 
list  was  called  by  the  Veldcornet,  the  seven  men  refused 


134  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

to  go,  handing  in  a  written  refusal ;  the  burghers  then 
formed  up  ready  to  leave.  But  it  must  for  ever  be 
a  matter  of  regret  that  in  spite  of  many  bitter  reproaches 
a  large  number  of  Englishmen  submitted,  afraid  of  the 
boycott  of  Pretoria. 

The  sun  was  sinking  behind  the  Magaliesberg  Hills 
as  the  commando  slowly  wound  its  way  through  the 
crowded  streets,  and  thence  out  on  to  the  veld.  At 
intervals  could  be  seen  the  bereaved  mother,  with  little 
children  clinging  to  her  skirts,  bewailing  the  departure 
of  the  bread-winner  ;  a  scene  of  sorrow  such  as  would 
touch  the  hardest  heart.  Behind  came  carts  and  car- 
riages carrying  the  wealthier  portion  of  the  community, 
who  had  come  to  bid  a  last  farewell  to  those  they 
loved. 

The  Transvaal  Advertiser  wd^s,  filled  with  accounts  of 
the  sufferings  of  the  destitute  left  behind  by  the  com- 
mando. Cases  such  as  the  following  were  to  be  daily 
read  about :  '  Mrs.  Elliot,  who  resides  near  the  Presi- 
dency, had  the  bread-winner  of  herself  and  three  little 
children  commandeered,  and  would  have  starved  by 
this  time  were  it  not  that  two  or  three  friends  supplied 
her  wants.'  The  suffering  was  not  confined  entirely  to 
the  British ;  the  Hollanders  had  to  go,  of  course,  and 
one,  a  poor  fellow,  a  burgher  named  Van  der  Westhuizen, 
committed  suicide  at  the  first  resting-place  in  the  Thorns, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  his  family  were  left  unprovided 
for  preying  on  his  mind.  Happily  the  Uitlanders  filled 
the  breach,  and  relieved  as  far  as  possible  all  cases 
of  destitution  without  distinction,  while  the  Transvaal 
Government  stood  looking  on  in  sullen  apathy. 

The  men  who  had  refused  to  go  to  the  front 
were  still  at  large,  and  a  very  strong  feeling  existed 
that  a  position  should  be  taken  up  where  water 
was  obtainable,  the  spot  provisioned,  and  held  by  a 
number  of  men  who  would  fight  if  necessary  to  prevent 


THE  APPEAL  TO  C/ESAR  135 

the  Government  securing  the  men  as  prisoners.  At  a 
meeting  of  the  Secret  Committee  in  Johannesburg  held 
some  time  after,  it  was  announced  that  nearly  5,000  men 
were  available,  and  that  it  was  thought  many  of  the 
Krugersdorp  burghers  would  join  in  a  struggle  for  a 
pure  Republic.  A  careful  examination  of  facts  led  to 
the  conclusion  that  armed  resistance  would  be  futile,  as 
at  the  outside  we  could  only  command  500  to  1,000  rifles, 
and  most  of  these  would  have  had  to  be  obtained  by 
violating  the  gunsmiths'  stores,  as  the  movement  had 
no  funds  behind  it.  The  artillery  camp  and  magazine 
were  strongly  guarded  every  night,  and  an  attack  on 
them  would  have  to  be  made  with  revolvers  and  sticks, 
which  would  have  resulted  in  failure,  with  a  heavy 
sacrifice  of  life,  as  the  defenders  were  armed  with 
breechloaders  and  held  a  strong  position.  These  plans 
were  only  known  to  very  few,  the  inner  circle  of  the 
movement,  and  we  do  not  believe  one  word  of  their 
actual  plans  reached  the  ears  of  the  Government. 

At  last  on  June  16  it  was  rumoured  that  the  State 
Attorney  intended  taking  action  against  those  British 
subjects  who  had  refused  to  go  to  the  front,  and  a  large 
public  meeting  was  held  for  the  purpose  of  raising  funds 
for  the  defence  of  the  prisoners.  It  took  place  in  the 
Caledonian  Hall,  Pretoria,  and  w^as  most  enthusiastic. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Underwood  made  a  stirring  appeal  to 
those  present  to  support  the  cause,  and,  though  most 
of  the  audience  were  working  men,  they  subscribed  in 
a  few  minutes  a  sum  of  over  £"400.  The  scene  was  one 
of  tremendous  excitement ;  men  who  had  no  money 
sent  up  I.O.U.'s  to  the  platform,  scribbled  contribu- 
tions on  any  piece  of  paper  available,  and  not  one  of 
these  drafts  was  dishonoured.  All  gave  except  the 
Government  spies.  Perhaps  the  most  touching  gift 
was  an  act  of  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  a  young  English- 
man, who  was  so  down  on  his  luck  that  he  had  no 


136  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

money  to  give  ;  so  taking  his  dog,  a  favourite  pointer, 
he  insisted  on  its  being  sold  then  and  there  for  what 
it  would  fetch,  on  behalf  of  the  fund. 

Attorneys  were  secured,  as  also  the  services  of  the 
Hon.  J.  W.  Leonard,  Q.C.,  a  true  Loyalist,  and  of  Mr. 
Advocate  J.  W.  Wessels  (author  of  'The  Status  of  the 
Uitlander '),  who  refused  to  accept  any  fee,  only  too 
proud  to  be  of  service  to  their  fellow-subjects. 

It  was  decided  to  forestall  the  State  Attorney  by 
making  application  to  the  Court  for  a  rule  nisi  calling 
on  the  Veldcornet,  Mr.  Melt  Marais,  to  show  cause 
why  the  men  should  be  commandeered  or  fined  for 
refusing  commando  duty.  The  application  was  heard 
by  the  full  Bench,  composed  of  the  Chief  Justice, 
J.  G.  Kotze,  and  Judges  Jorissen  and  Morice.  The 
eloquence  of  Mr.  Leonard  in  pleading  for  the  applicants 
has  never  been  surpassed  by  him,  while  Mr.  Esselen, 
who  appeared  for  the  Government,  made  a  brilliant 
defence.  Legal  authorities  in  all  languages  were 
quoted  in  the  original ;  every  effort  was  made  on  both 
sides.  The  display  of  forensic  ability  called  forth  a 
tribute  of  praise  from  the  Chief  Justice,  and  the  feeling 
in  Court  was  that  a  victory  had  been  gained,  and  that 
the  commandeering  would  be  declared  illegal.  Judg- 
ment was  reserved.  On  the  Sunday  which  intervened 
it  was  rumoured  that  the  President  was  applying  pressure 
to  one  of  the  judges ;  it  was  also  stated  that  if  an  adverse 
judgment  was  given,  martial  law  would  be  immediately 
proclaimed.  On  the  Monday  a  majority  judgment  was 
given  by  the  Chief  Justice  and  Dr.  Jorissen,  Judge  Morice 
dissenting,  'that  British  subjects  and  all  aliens  not 
exempted  by  treaty  resident  in  the  Transvaal  over 
two  years  are  liable  to  be  called  out  for  military  service.' 
The  application  of  the  men,  with  one  exception,  was 
therefore  refused.  The  extraordinary  feature  of  this 
judgment,  which  has  been  the  subject  of  much  dispute 


THE  APPEAL  TO  C^SAR  137 

in  legal  circles,  is  the  fact  that  Judge  Jorissen  assented 
to  it,  when  he  had,  as  specified  in  Sir  William  Cameron's 
despatch,  quoted  previously,  agreed  to  exempt  British 
subjects  from  being  commandeered.  Unfortunately,  we 
were  deprived  of  this  argument,  as  the  despatch  was  not 
published  till  long  after  the  case  had  been  heard.  The 
Chief  Justice  may  not  have  erred  in  his  judgment  from 
a  local  legal  point  of  view,  but  it  was  the  plain  duty  of 
Dr.  Jorissen  to  remind  his  chief  of  the  obligation  he 
himself  had  entered  into,  which  would  either  debar  him 
from  sitting  to  hear  the  application,  or  make  him  give 
judgment  in  favour  of  the  applicants.  His  action  can 
only  be  characterized  as  one  of  unjustifiable  betrayal 
and  a  travesty  of  justice. 

On  June  21  the  commandeered  men  were  arrested 
and  taken  prisoners.  It  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty 
that  the  committee  avoided  active  resistance  being  made 
to  this  act  of  the  Government.  But  the  Loyalists  had 
pinned  their  faith  on  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet,  and  they 
knew  no  overt  act  would  strengthen  their  case,  which 
was  now  raised  to  higher  and  broader  grounds. 

Large  numbers  of  ladies  wearing  the  red,  white,  and 
blue  colours  escorted  the  prisoners  to  the  drift  on  the 
north  side  of  the  town,  and  others  drove  some  miles  out 
to  see  them  as  far  on  the  road  as  possible.  At  a  spot 
called  the  Halfway  House  the  last  farewells  were  said, 
burning  speeches  were  made,  which  even  touched  the 
hearts  of  the  volunteer  escort,  under  Tjaart  Kruger, 
the  President's  son,  so  much  so  that  they  could  not 
resist  joining  in  the  cheers  which  greeted  the  speakers' 
utterances.  The  prisoners,  Messrs.  Reno,  Steer,  May- 
nard.  Ingle,  and  Clark — all  honour  to  them — then 
mounted  the  wagon  which  was  to  convey  them  to 
their  destination  at  the  front,  to  be  dealt  with  by  the 
Krygsraad  (court-martial). 

The  Uitlander  community  was  at  this  stage  practically 


138  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

in  a  state  of  unarmed  revolt.  Men's  feelings  were  so 
excited  by  the  action  of  the  Government  that  work  was 
at  a  standstill.  The  Government  refused  certain  cipher 
messages,  attempts  were  made  to  ring  the  old  changes 
on  Free  State  and  Cape  sympathy  ;  but  Kruger  had 
overreached  himself,  as  he  now  found  to  his  regret, 
and  that  assistance  which  had  never  before  been 
refused  was  tardily  forthcoming.  If  war  had  then 
occurred,  he  would  have  had  lots  of  sympathy,  but 
his  overconfidence  would  have  lost  for  him  the 
material  assistance  he  had  been  accustomed  to  receive 
in  the  past.  Still,  he  never  looked  back :  money  and 
goods  were  commandeered,  the  burghers  being  let  off 
lightly,  while  the  full  pound  of  flesh  was  exacted  from 
the  Uitlander.  And  the  forces  of  corruption  were  at 
work  vainly  striving  to  get  through  a  Cyanide  Monopoly, 
which  would  have  been  as  serious  a  blow  to  the  mining 
industry  as  the  Dynamite  Concession. 

A  mass  meeting  had  been  arranged  at  Johannesburg 
for  Saturday,  June  22,  when  it  was  announced  that  the 
Governor,  Sir  Henry  Loch,  would  for  certain  visit 
Pretoria  within  a  few  days.  It  was  therefore  decided 
to  postpone  it,  to  avoid  embarrassing  him.  Everything 
was  done  that  prudence  could  dictate  to  secure  a 
decisive  step  on  the  part  of  the  English  Government. 
In  view  of  this,  all  revolutionary  methods  were  dis- 
couraged, and  the  Governor's  visit  effectually  prevented 
any  recourse  to  measures  which  might  or  might  not 
have  been  successful,  but  which  would  have  so  adver- 
tised our  case  that,  at  a  sacrifice  of  a  few  devoted  lives, 
justice  would  have  had  to  be  done. 

It  was  felt  that  the  Governor  must  obtain  for  us 
those  concessions  for  which  we  had  been  striving  so 
long  and  so  patiently ;  his  task  seemed  so  easy,  and 
yet  he  declined. 

On  the  Loyalist  side  goodsolid  work  was  being  done 


THE  APPEAL  TO  CAESAR  139 

by  Mr.  Henry  Hess,  of  the  Critic,  a  man  who  has 
rendered  yeoman  service  to  British  interests  in  the 
Transvaal.  The  Transvaal  Advertiser  in  Pretoria,  and 
the  Star  in  Johannesburg,  were  busily  opposing  the 
subsidized  efforts  of  the  Government  organs.  Unfortu- 
nately, the  Star  had  for  some  time  been  running  on  the 
Progressive  Republican  tack,  which  somewhat  minimized 
its  influence  with  the  majority  of  British  subjects  who 
were  trying  to  steer  the  Imperial  barque  into  port.  On 
the  failure  of  Sir  Henry  Loch  to  accomplish  the  removal 
of  disabilities,  it  promptly  veered  round  again  to  robust 
republicanism,  leaving  the  Advertiser  dsid  the  Critic  to 
labour  alone  on  the  other  side. 

On  the  22nd,  as  stated  above,  it  was  announced  that 
the  Governor  was  leaving  for  Pretoria,  and  would  arrive 
on  the  25th.  The  news  was  somewhat  unexpected,  as 
it  was  certain  that  he  was  not  invited  by  the  Transvaal. 
.Little  time  was  left  for  making  preparation  to  receive 
him,  so  that  the  Uitlanders'  case  might  be  properly 
represented.  Petitions  were  drawn  up  hurriedly,  and 
the  working  men  of  Pretoria  and  Johannesburg  soon 
showed  by  their  signatures  that  they  were  unanimous 
in  appealing  for  justice  to  Caesar.  Within  three  days 
.nearly  14,000  signatures  had  been  collected,  and  with 
time  double  the  number  would  have  been  obtained. 
The  British  Agent  could  not  help  admitting,  when  he 
heard  this,  that  '  the  British  Government  must  and 
would  remedy  the  state  of  affairs  existing  in  the  Trans- 
vaal.' He  had  yet  painfully  to  learn  what  reliance 
could  be  placed  on  a  British  Governor  or  a  Liberal 
Government  in  regard  to  South  Africa. 


CHAPTER  X 

Cesar's  feet  of  clay 

If  our  people  were  exasperated  by  the  indignities  to 
which  they  had  been  subjected,  the  taunts  of  the  Raad 
members  and  the  demands  of  the  press-gang  officers 
made  them  almost  frantic  with  rage.  The  arrest  and 
peremptory  despatch  of  their  fellow-subjects  to  the 
front  was  bad  enough  in  itself,  without  the  overbearing 
arrogance  of  those  in  power,  and  the  callous  indiffer- 
ence of  the  Home  Government.  What  added  to  their 
feeling  of  hopeless  impotence  was  the  fact  that  every- 
thing was  done,  as  Mr.  Leonard  said,  '  in  such  a  dread- 
fully legal  way,'  with  all  the  cunning  and  malevolence 
of  racial  hatred  and  fear  at  the  dawning  resurrection 
of  the  Imperial  idea. 

The  National  Union,  in  despair  at  obtaining  any 
redress  from  the  Government  for  Uitlander  grievances, 
followed  the  lead  of  the  Uitlanders'  Association  in 
Pretoria,  and  resolved  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  British 
Government  for  redress.  On  June  23  they  passed  the 
following  resolution :  '  That  any  mere  abrogation  or 
modification  of  the  commando  law  which  is  not  accom- 
panied by  the  removal  of  all  disabilities  under  which 
the  aliens  are  now  suffering  will  not  be  regarded  as 
a  satisfactory  settlement  by  this  Union.'  That  was 
the  point  we  were  aiming  at ;  the  commandeering  was 


CiCSAR'S  FEET  OF  CLAY  141 

the  knife  which  we  hoped  would  have  removed  the 
festering  sore  from  South  African  pohtics. 

At  first  it  appeared  that  the  High  Commissioner 
would  not  visit  Pretoria  as  the  guest  of  the  Government- 
It  would  seem  that  he  must  be  that,  or  else  he  could 
not  pay  a  friendly  visit.  In  view  of  the  very  unfriendly 
way  in  which  the  Transvaal  had  acted,  it  was  felt  it 
would  have  been  decidedly  better  for  him  and  us  not 
to  come  up  if  he  could  only  do  so  as  their  guest. 

There  was  a  feeling  that  secret  efforts  were  being 
made  in  Cape  Town  to  misrepresent  the  Uitlanders' 
case. 

The  work  of  these  agencies  could  be  seen  in  perusing 
the  columns  of  the  Bloemfoiitetn  Express,  then  con- 
ducted by  Carl  Borckenhagen,  a  German  Africander, 
which  was  the  official  organ  of  the  Bond  and  the 
United  South  Africa  Republican  party.  Its  abuse  and 
vituperation  of  the  British  Agent  was  of  such  a  cruel 
nature  that  that  gentleman's  sons  wished  to  take  the 
law  into  their  own  hands,  and  were  only  restrained  by 
their  father's  influence  from  doing  so. 

The  High  Commissioner,  we  believe,  had  already 
started,  when  the  Transvaal  Executive  sent  him  a  tardy 
invitation  to  be  their  guest.  Its  acceptance  filled 
them  with  confidence,  and  envoys  were  despatched 
to  meet  him  in  the  Free  State,  while  Dr.  Leyds  con- 
descended to  proceed  as  far  as  Vereeniging.  At  the 
urgent  request  of  many  British  subjects,  Sir  Jacobus 
de  Wet  also  arranged  to  meet  him  to  guard  against 
attempts  being  made  to  prejudice  the  case  of  the 
Uitlanders  before  he  reached  Pretoria. 

It  seemed  at  that  time  so  difficult  to  get  the  ear  of  a 
British  Governor,  and  everyone  with  grievances  e.xcept 
a  British  subject  was  welcome.  The  Bond  had  so 
effectually  barred  the  way  to  imperial  interference  that 
the  Governors  could  not  trust  themselves  to  sail  against 


142  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

the  Africander  tide,  lest  they  should  be  wrecked  on  those 
same  rocks  that  had  been  so  fatal  to  many  a  soldier's 
reputation.  Yet  we  who  lived  in  the  turmoil  knew 
that  the  moment  had  come  to  strike,  and  strike  hard, 
for  British  supremacy ;  and  for  this  end  no  precaution, 
however  trivial,  was  neglected. 

Nominally  the  High  Commissioner's  visit  was  with 
reference  to  the  Swazieland  Convention  ;  actually  it 
had  very  little  to  do  with  it,  as  the  arrangements 
previously  concluded  had  been  formally  extended  for  six 
months.  The  Colonial  Office  had  hurried  the  departure 
of  Sir  Henry  Loch  on  the  mission  to  Pretoria  purely 
on  account  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  Transvaal. 

Taking  everything  into  consideration,  it  is  apparent 
that  he  ought  never  to  have  come  to  Pretoria  as  the 
guest  of  the  Boer  Government  unless  they  agreed  to 
stop  the  commandeering,  which  would  have  enabled 
him  properly  to  discuss  the  questions  of  the  Uitlanders' 
disabilities,  and  also  the  settlement  of  Swazieland 
matters. 

A  firm  request,  backed  up  by  the  arguments  of  the 
British  Agent,  would  probably  have  secured  the  first 
desideratum.  If,  however,  it  had  failed,  the  arrest  of 
British  subjects  constituted  surely  in  itself  a  very  serious 
position,  and  assuming  that  war  had  resulted,  what 
would  have  been  our  military  position  ? 

On  the  one  side,  we  had  the  Transvaal,  with  a  big 
native  war  on  of  its  own  making;  with  an  alien  popula- 
tion driven  to  the  verge  of  rebellion,  who  would  have 
enlisted  to  a  man  in  any  irregular  corps  that  might 
be  formed ;  with  a  disaffected  section  among  the 
burghers,  temporarily  alienated  from  the  Free  State 
and  the  Cape  Colony,  who,  although  they  would  have 
sympathized  with  the  Transvaal,  would  not  at  this 
time  have  fought  on  its  side  on  the  question  of 
Uitlander  grievances.     The  Boers  had  a  few  batteries 


CESAR'S  FEET  OF  CLAY  143 

of  field-guns — five  or  six  at  the  outside  ;  they  had  no 
siege-guns,  no  forts.  They  had  been  importing  a 
large  number  of  Martini  rifles,  and  had  large  supplies 
of  ammunition,  which  could  also  be  manufactured  at 
the  Powder  Factory,  In  an  emergency  they  could 
perhaps  have  put  25,000  men  in  the  field,  including 
extremists  from  the  Free  State  and  Cape  Colony.  We 
could  have  easily  held  these  with  a  force  composed 
of  the  regulars,  volunteers,  and  Loyalists  in  the  country. 
At  this  time  the  Uitlanders  would  have  fought  to  a 
man,  and  Englishmen  in  the  Transvaal  would  have 
rallied  round  the  flag  far  more  so  than  in  the  Reform 
movement,  when  there  was  no  enthusiasm  shown  till 
Jameson  crossed  the  border,  and  more  even  than  they 
did  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  war.  The  forced 
enlistment  of  British  subjects,  coupled  with  the  insults 
and  degradations  to  which  we  were  subjected,  had 
created  a  degree  of  Loyalist  enthusiasm  unparalleled  in 
the  history  of  South  Africa.  With  these  facts  well 
known  to  President  Kruger,  a  strong  diplomatist  ought 
to  have  had  no  difficulty  in  securing  his  object.  In  all 
probability  no  bloodshed  would  havb  occurred ;  the 
President  would  have  tried  every  diplomatic  resource, 
and  then  thrown  up  the  sponge.  England  has  never 
had  a  clearer  case  of  wrong  to  avenge  ;  she  is  fighting 
to-day  in  no  better  or  juster  cause  than  she  had  at  that 
moment. 

But  not  only  did  Sir  Henry  Loch  and  the  Liberal 
Cabinet  lose  their  chance  of  the  pacific  solution  of  a 
serious  difficulty,  but  they  laid,  through  their  inability 
to  grasp  the  seriousness  of  the  situation,  the  foundation 
of  the  terrible  war  which  is  now  raging. 

On  June  23  the  Cape  Argus  reporter  wired  that  over 
500  signatures  had  been  obtained  to  the  Pretoria  peti- 
tion, the  only  Uitlanders  who  would  not  sign  being 
those  '  who  were  forbidden  to  do  so  under  pain  of  dis- 


144  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

missal  by  their  employers.'  The  terrorism  was  carried 
to  such  an  extent  that  individual  members  of  the  com- 
mittee were  warned  not  to  go  out  at  night  unarmed. 
An  attempt  was  frustrated  to  tar  and  feather  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Underwood  at  his  residence,  where  his  wife  was 
dangerously  ill  at  the  time.  Some  five  or  six  hundred 
Uitlanders,  armed  with  every  available  weapon,  awaited 
the  *  tar-and-feather  '  party,  which  was  to  be  composed 
of  artillerymen  and  roughs  from  the  Government  offices. 
Luckily  for  them,  the  arguments  of  Messrs.  Leyds  and 
Esselen,  who  heard  of  the  proposal  in  time,  saved  the 
situation,  as,  if  fighting  had  once  started,  it  could 
certainly  not  have  ended  there. 

By  twelve  o'clock  on  June  26  the  Johannesburg 
petition,  which  had  only  been  in  existence  forty-eight 
hours,  was  signed  by  13,614  persons. 

On  June  25  Sir  Henry  Loch  arrived  at  Pretoria. 
The  hour  of  his  arrival  was  uncertain,  and  the  Govern- 
ment were  averse  to  giving  any  information  on  the 
subject.  The  people,  not  to  be  denied,  were  up  as 
early  as  six  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Men,  women,  and 
children,  wearing  red,  white,  and  blue  rosettes,  and 
waving  little  Union  Jacks,  thronged  the  station,  waiting 
the  arrival  of  the  man  upon  whom  they  relied  as  their 
deliverer.  When  one  considers  that  these  Loyalists 
were  in  many  instances,  directly  or  indirectly,  depen- 
dent on  the  Boer  Government  for  their  support,  the 
risk  and  the  sacrifice  which  this  welcome  to  the  British 
High  Commissioner  involved  can  be  imagined  ;  for  the 
Government  had  its  black  list,  supplied  and  added  to 
daily  by  the  secret  service. 

It  had  been  rumoured  that  attempts  would  be  made 
to  prevent  the  public  assembling  on  the  platform  ; 
probably  the  early  hour  at  which  they  gathered  pre- 
vented this  being  carried  out.  It  was  certain  that 
attempts  would  be  made  to  prevent  the  presentation  of 


CESAR'S  FEET  OF  CLAY  145 

an  address.  To  prevent  a  surprise  at  the  last  moment 
the  State  Attorney  was  informed  that  we  intended  to 
present  it  at  all  risks,  and  he  thereupon  agreed  to  its 
being  handed  in  at  the  Transvaal  Hotel.  By  eight 
o'clock  there  were  some  2,000  people  present,  who 
were  much  annoyed  to  find  that  no  preparation  had 
been  made  by  the  Government  to  give  Sir  H.  Lock 
a  fitting  reception ;  there  was  not  even  an  English  flag 
in  evidence.  A  large  Union  Jack  was  therefore  pro- 
cured and  'fastened  to  a  whip-stick;'  it  was  confided 
to  a  stalwart  Africander,  who  towered  above  the  heads 
of  the  people. 

About  8.30  President  Kruger  arrived,  escorted  by 
the  volunteer  cavalr}^  with  General  Koch,  and  some 
burghers.  He  took  up  a  position  near  the  entrance  to 
the  station,  and  the  wind,  which  was  blowing  from  the 
south,  carried  the  flag  over  the  President's  head.  At 
this  the  burghers  with  their  native  superstition  were 
heard  to  mutter,  '  It  is  a  sign — a  sign  !  The  flag  keeps 
over  the  President's  head  !' 

Soon  after  the  train  arrived  bearing  Sir  Henry  Loch 
and  suite,  who  were  received  with  tremendous  cheering 
— such  cheering  as  never  had  been  heard  in  Pretoria 
before,  and  never  will  be  heard  again  until  the  Union 
Jack  runs  up  on  the  Government  buildings.  At  least 
3,000  people  must  by  then  have  been  present,  almost 
entirely  composed  of  British  subjects  and  their  sympa- 
thizers ;  and  the  way  in  which  they  sang  'God  save 
the  Queen,'  spoke  volumes  for  the  depth  and  strength 
of  those  feelings,  wrung  from  the  bitterness  of  the  hearts 
so  long  suppressed,  and  now  no  more  to  be  denied. 
To  do  honour  to  the  Governor,  the  horses  were  taken 
from  the  President's  carriage,  and  in  a  moment  of 
spontaneous  excitement  a  Mr.  Horner,  a  quiet  man 
who  had  never  taken  any  part  in  politics,  seized  the 
flag,  and  sprung  on  the  box  with  it.     The  crowd  lined 

10 


146  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

the  streets,  while  the  cavalry  escort  kept  discreetly  in 
the  rear.  In  this  way  the  procession  entered  the 
town,  singing  patriotic  songs  in  disregard  of  President 
Kruger  and  Dr.  Leyds,  who  must  have  experienced  a 
very  uncomfortable  ride.  They  could  not  hide  from 
themselves  that  this  was  no  organized  demonstration, 
but  an  exhibition  of  spontaneous  feeling  which  had  never 
been  equalled  in  the  country.  In  front  of  the  Govern- 
ment buildings  were  the  Volksraad  members  gazing 
with  apprehension  and  discomfort  at  the  procession. 
The  carriage  stopped  at  the  Transvaal  Hotel,  and, 
amidst  continuous  cheering,  the  preliminary  address  of 
welcome  to  the  High  Commissioner  was  read  as  follows  : 

'  We,  the  undersigned  representatives  of  the  British 
subjects  in  this  city,  wish  to  take  this  opportunity  of 
presenting  you  with  a  preliminary  address  of  welcome 
on  this  your  second  visit  to  Pretoria  as  the  representa- 
tive of  our  Queen  and  country  ;  and  in  extending  a 
hearty  greeting,  do  so  in  the  full  assurance  that  Your 
Excellency  will  act  up  to  the  noble  traditions  and 
principles  of  honour  and  liberty  which  were  the  boast 
of  our  forefathers,  and  are  the  glorious  heritage  of  the 
British  nation.  With  these  few  words  of  welcome, 
which  will  be  supplemented  by  an  address  to  be  sub- 
mitted to  Your  Excellency, 

'  We  remain,'  etc. 
[Signed  by  the  members  of  the  Uitlander 
Committee]  .* 

Sir  Henry  Loch,  in  replying,  said :  '  I  thank  you  sin- 
cerely for  the  cordial  welcome  extended  to  me  on  this 
my  second  visit  to  Pretoria.     I  understand  that  another 

*  For  reports  of  speeches,  etc.,  we  are  in  many  instances  in. 
debted  to  the  courtesy  of  the  Argus  Company  in  placing  their 
files  at  our  disposal. 


CESAR'S  FEET  OF  CLAY  147 

address  will  be  presented  to  me  later  on  in  the  day, 
and  on  that  occasion  I  will  refer  at  fuller  length  to 
the  subjects  therein  contained  (loud  cheers).  Again  I 
thank  you  for  this  reception,  and  assure  you  I  will 
remember  it  for  many  long  years  to  come.'  Three 
cheers  were  called  for  the  Queen  and  her  representa- 
tive, and  a  round  dozen  were  given.  A  similar  ovation 
was  then  accorded  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet.  The  crowd  were 
still  lingering  while  Sir  Henry  Lock  was  conversing 
with  one  or  two  friends,  when  probably  he  received  a 
hint,  which,  if  so,  was  promptly  acted  on.  He  stepped 
forward  again,  and  said :  '  There  is  one  thing  I  wish 
you  to  do  :  if  you  respect  the  Queen,  and  myself  as  her 
representative,  respect  my  position  here.  I  am  here  as 
the  guest  of  President  Kruger,  and  by  complying  with 
my  request  you  will  assist  me  in  looking  after  your 
interests  and  the  interests  of  the  country  I  represent.' 
Sir  Henry  then  called  for  cheers  for  President  Kruger, 
which  invitation  was,  however,  very  half-heartedly  re- 
sponded to. 

The  latter  remarks  of  His  Excellencv  acted  some- 
what as  a  damper  on  the  crowd ;  they  had  borne 
with,  and  suffered  so  much  from.  President  Kruger  that 
they  could  not  understand  the  High  Commissioner's 
diplomacy.  They  were  not  going,  however,  to  upset  his 
efforts  now  by  any  overt  action.  They  took  it  that 
this  message  implied  a  sense  of  responsibility  on  the 
part  of  Her  Majesty's  representative,  who  would  not 
act  as  peacemaker  if  peace  had  to  be  bought  at  the 
cost  of  sacrificing  his  own  countrymen. 

Dr.  Leyds  left  the  hotel  by  the  back  door  during  the 
reading  of  the  address ;  but  the  President  stayed  over 
half  an  hour  with  Sir  H.  Loch,  and  was  eventually 
accompanied  to  the  Government  Buildings  by  a  small 
crowd  of  burghers,  his  coachman  having  gone  home 
with  the  horses. 

10 — 2 


148  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

In  the  evening  a  deputation,  consisting  of  Messrs, 
Sam  Marks,  E.  F.  Bourke,  T.  Hugo,  J.  W.  Curlewis 
(all  burghers),  and  Attorney  Hull  of  Johannesburg  (now 
a  Reformer),  called  on  the  State  President,  assuring 
His  Honour  of  their  firm  support  and  very  strong  dis- 
approval of  the  unseemly  demonstration  (?)  organized 
and  led  by  a  number  of  irresponsible  British  subjects. 
These  irresponsible  British  subjects,  who  represented 
nine-tenths  of  the  British  residents  of  Pretoria,  and 
had  behind  them  the  masses  of  Johannesburg,  were 
with  difficulty  restrained  from  laying  hands  on  the 
self-constituted  deputation  of  Krugerite  sympathisers 
when  they  left  the  President's  presence. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  their  officious  action  was  so 
uncalled  for  that  Dr.  Leyds,  replying  in  the  Volksraad 
on  July  13  to  Mr.  Wolmarans'  question  re  the  alleged 
disturbance  on  the  occasion  of  the  visit  of  Sir  Henry 
Loch,  said  :  '  He  believed,  as  previously  stated,  it  was 
the  intention  of  the  crowd  to  give  a  hearty  welcome 
to  the  Queen's  representative,  and  not  to  insult  the 
Transvaal  Government,  etc.  He  regretted  the  absence 
of  the  British  flag.  The  matter  was  a  serious  one,  and 
was  being  inquired  into.' 

Meantime  the  town  was  filling  up  with  armed 
burghers,  and  the  terrorism  took  a  quieter  but  more 
practical  form.  Gentlemen  who  were  supposed  to  be 
countenancing  the  British  case  were  warned  that  they 
would  be  in  serious  danger  if  they  went  outside  the 
town,  and  were  cautioned  by  friends  not  to  go  out  at 
night.  On  the  evening  of  the  torchlight  procession  the 
Hon.  J.  W.  Leonard  received  definite  information  to 
this  effect  as  regards  himself,  and  sent  a  message  by 
his  valet  to  another  person  not  to  go  out  that  evening, 
as  he  would  be  in  danger  of  his  life.  The  latter,  how- 
ever, ran  the  risk,  having  well  armed  himself. 

The  staff  of  the  Governor  were  entertained  at  the 


CESAR'S  FEET  OF  CLAY  149 

Club,  and  it  was  remarkable  to  see  the  way  in  which 
men  who  had  a  few  minutes  before  said  to  their 
burgher  friends,  while  taking  a  glass  of  liquor,  '  This  is 
to  take  the  taste  of  the  accursed  English  language  out 
of  my  mouth,'  were  doing  all  they  could  by  the  aid  of 
that  same  language  to  influence  the  opinion  of  the 
guests. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  26th  the  British  residents  of 
Pretoria  presented  the  local  petition  to  the  Governor, 
which  was  a  duplicate  of  the  one  presented  by  the 
Johannesburg  deputation  shortly  afterwards.  It  read 
as  follows : 

'  We,  the  undersigned  loyal  subjects  of  Her  Majesty 
the  Queen,  beg  respectfully  to  tender  you  on  behalf  of 
Her  Majesty's  subjects  in  the  Transvaal  a  hearty  wel- 
come upon  this  the  occasion  of  Your  Excellency's 
second  visit  to  Pretoria.  Your  Excellency's  arrival  at 
this  juncture  affords  us  the  opportunity  of  stating  with 
what  confidence  we  regard  your  tenure  of  the  high 
office  of  Her  Majesty's  chief  representative  in  South 
Africa,  and  of  stating  that  we  respectfully  look  to  Your 
Excellency  to  uphold  the  interests  of  all  British  subjects 
in  the  Transvaal  in  a  manner  consistent  with  the  great- 
ness of  the  traditions  of  our  country,  and  so  as  to 
maintain  and  strengthen  the  attachment  of  our  fellow- 
countrymen  to  their  Queen.  Your  Excellency  will 
hardly  need  to  be  reminded  how  great  are  the  interests 
of  Her  Majesty's  subjects  in  this  country,  but  we  would 
wish  to  emphasize  for  Your  Excellency's  consideration 
the  peculiar  difficulties  which  have  lately  manifested 
themselves  as  being  incidental  to  our  position  here. 
Denied  the  franchise,  and  having  recently  been  sub- 
jected to  the  indignity  of  seeing  a  petition  presented  by 
13,000  residents,  mainly  subjects  of  the  Queen,  praying 
for  some  relaxation  of  the  unjust  franchise  laws,  greeted 


ISO  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

with  laughter  and  scorn  by  the  Legislature ;  having, 
further,  been  informed  by  the  authorities  that  not  only 
we,  but  our  children  born  in  the  country,  can  never 
hope  to  participate  in  the  most  precious  privileges  of 
citizenship,  our  wrongs  have  lately  been  accentuated 
by  the  circumstance  that  the  Courts  and  the  Govern- 
ment of  this  State  have  declared  our  liability  to  be 
called  out  at  any  time  for  the  carrying  out  of  laws  in 
the  making  of  which  we  can  never  have  any  voice,  and 
in  the  enforcement  of  which  we  have  no  interest.  We 
beg  to  assure  Your  Excellency  that  this  position  of 
affairs  is  to  us  so  intolerable  that  the  situation  is 
fraught  with  the  possibility  of  serious  results,  and  we 
respectfully  beg  Your  Excellency  to  bestow  the  gravest 
and  most  serious  consideration  upon  it.  We  pass  by 
the  numerous  other  grievances  and  disabilities  under 
which  we  labour  in  this  State,  being  well  aware  that 
Your  Excellency  is  fully  conversant  with  them,  in  the 
hopes  that  our  reliance  upon  Her  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment, whom  it  is  your  high  privilege  to  represent  in 
South  Africa,  may  always  be  justified,  and  that  we 
shall  not  have  approached  Your  Excellency  in  vain 
with  this  bare  suggestion  of  the  gravity  of  the  situa- 
tion. 

'  We  remain,'  etc. 

[The  Petitioners]. 

Mr.  E.  R.  Roberts,  who  presented  the  address,  then 
made  a  few  remarks  with  regard  to  grievances,  which 
had  at  that  time  not  been  fully  exposed.  While 
pointing  out  the  inequality  of  the  indirect  taxation, 
which  was  practically  confined  to  articles  of  food  used 
by  the  Uitlanders,  and  not  the  burghers,  he  was  stopped 
by  the  High  Commissioner,  who  made  this  reply  to 
the  assembled  people.  *  He  requested  all  British 
subjects  to  observe  the  laws  of  the  country  in  which 


CESAR'S  FEET  OF  CLAY  151 

they  lived,  and  promised  that  he  personally  as  High  Com- 
missioner and  that  Her  Majesty's  Government  would 
take  into  consideration  any  disabilities  that  British 
subjects  might  suffer  in  this  country.  He  added  that 
he  had  every  confidence  in  the  fairness  and  justice  of 
His  Honour  the  President  and  the  Government  of  the 
Republic'  His  Excellency  then  moved  towards  the 
crowd,  and  in  the  course  of  conversation  asked  several 
of  them  what  rifles  were  possessed  by  British  subjects, 
who  replied  that  at  the  outside  there  were  500  to  1,000 
available.  The  impression  the  inquiry  made  was,  '  How 
long  could  we  hold  out  before  reinforcements  came  if 
attacked  by  the  Boers  ?'     (See  Appendix  C.) 

In  spite  of  this,  it  was  felt  that  Sir  Henry  Loch's 
attitude  was  not  as  satisfactory  as  it  had  been  the 
previous  day,  and  it  was  thought  agencies  were  at 
work  to  prevent  the  access  to  the  High  Commissioner 
of  men  cognisant  of  our  cause.  The  whole  of  the 
secret  armoury  of  the  Government  was  at  work,  no 
effort  being  spared,  and  we  soon  had  grave  fears  that 
one  member  at  least  of  His  Excellency's  staff  was  being 
seriously  prejudiced. 

On  the  same  day  it  was  stated  in  Government  circles 
that,  owing  to  the  representations  of  Herr  von  Herff, 
the  German  Consul,  who  was  a  great  friend  of  Dr. 
Leyds,  the  German  Government  had  become  alarmed 
at  the  prospect  of  British  interference  in  the  Transvaal. 
There  had  'been  a  communication  between  the  English 
and  German  Governments  concerning  the  peace  in 
South  Africa,  and  certain  instructions  had,  in  conse- 
quence, been  despatched  to  Sir  Henry  Loch. 

Prior  to  this  it  had  confidentially  and  confidently 
been  stated  that  the  English  Government  were  deter- 
mined to  mend  or  end  the  grievances  of  the  Uitlanders. 
Now  the  Transvaal  Government  had  apparently  received 
assurances  indirectly  from  '  von  Herff,'  and  they  refused 


152  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERiSM 

to  budge  an  inch  towards  reform.  The  President's  old 
excuse  was  trotted  out,  '  I  could  never  get  the  burghers 
to  consent,'  and  once  they  were  satisfied  that  he  did 
not  mean  to  hold  an  ultimatum  over  their  heads,  the 
High  Commissioner  lost  his  chance  of  effecting  any- 
thing. 

A  hitch  had  occurred,  and  the  above  is  the  only  reason- 
able excuse  for  Sir  Henry  Loch's  failure.  Assuming  that 
the  Cabinet  had  modified  his  instructions,  his  proper 
course  would  seem  to  have  been  to  break  off  negotiations 
at  once,  recognising  that  he  could  do  nothing,  and 
assuring  the  Uitlanders  that  he  personally  would  never 
rest  until  their  grievances  were  redressed ;  obtained  at 
the  same  time  a  pledge  from  them  that  they  would  not 
commit  any  overt  act  pending  the  result  of  an  appeal 
which  would  be  made  by  him  on  their  behalf  to  the 
Imperial  Government.  If  such  a  message  haa  been 
communicated  privately  to  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
Loyalists,  the  part}''  would  have  waited  to  see  what  the 
British  Government  were  going  to  do.  Sir  Henry  must 
have  lost  his  head ;  all  he  obtained  was  the  cessation 
of  commandeering,  which  deprived  us  of  the  mainstay 
of  our  agitation,  and  established  that  false  peace  which 
was  more  exasperating  than  open  and  bloody  battle 
could  have  been. 

There  really  was  no  excuse :  week  in  and  week  out 
our  party  had  been  drilling  it  into  the  British  Govern- 
ment that  now  was  the  time  to  insist  on  a  remedy  of 
the  existing  abuses.  Sir  H.  Loch  must  have  known 
that  the  effort  made  by  the  Loyalists  of  Pretoria  in  the 
heart  of  the  Boer  camp  could  never  be  attempted  by 
them  again,  that  they  had  staked  their  all  on  its  success. 
By  acting  as  he  did,  he  ruined  many  of  them,  in  the 
same  way  as  many  were  ruined  by  the  retrocession. 
The  Boers  never  forget,  and  the  Kruger  Government 
never  forgives.     How  deeply  some  must  have  regretted 


CESAR'S  FEET  OF  CLAY  153 

ever  to  have  staked  aught  for  the  sake  of  the  Empire  ; 
for  even  their  own  countrymen  forsook  them  in  some 
instances,  afraid  to  be  seen  with  the  men  who  were 
marked  by  the  Government. 

The  Africander  Bond  at  the  Cape,  ahve  to  the  ad- 
vantage to  be  got  out  of  the  demoraHzation  of  the 
Enghsh  in  the  Transvaal,  was  not  slow  in  striking. 
On  June  26  two  characteristic  motions  were  submitted 
to  the  Cape  Parliament  :  Mr.  Botha  in  the  Legislative 
Assembly  proposed  to  censure  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet, 
but  he  was  promptly  sat  upon  by  one  or  tv/o  of  the 
English  members.  In  the  Lower  House  Mr.  Van 
der  Walt  was  more  successful.  He  begged  to  move 
as  an  unopposed  motion,  '  That  this  House  desires 
to  express  its  regret  at  the  unseemly  display  of  dis- 
respect as  reported  in  the  newspapers  and  telegrams 
towards  the  President  and  Government  of  the  Trans- 
vaal Republic  by  individuals  representing  themselves  as 
British  subjects  on  the  occasion  of  the  official  and 
friendly  visit  of  His  Excellency  the  Governor  of  the 
colony  and  Her  Majesty's  High  Commissioner.'  After 
some  discussion,  it  was  decided  that  the  motion 
could  not  be  accepted  in  the  form  proposed.  After 
several  members  had  abused  the  High  Commissioner 
for  going  to  Pretoria  at  all,  Mr.  Rhodes  rose  amidst 
profound  silence,  and  said  that  he  thought  every 
member  of  that  House  would  approve  the  sentiment 
expressed  in  the  motion  which  the  honourable  member 
claimed  to  be  put  as  unopposed.  *  We  all  feel,'  con- 
tinued Mr.  Rhodes,  'that  we  are  deeply  sorry  at  the 
circumstances  which  have  been  stated  to  have  occurred, 
and  we  hope  that  they  have  been  greatly  exaggerated. 
.  .  .  Whether  it  be  so  or  not,  what  we  feel  so  deeply  is 
that  our  fellow-countrymen  should  have  misbehaved 
themselves  in  the  manner  that  they  are  stated  to  have 
done,  and  especially  on  an  occasion  when  our  Governor 


154  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

proceeded  to  Pretoria  in  order  to  improve  the  friendly 
relations  that  have  always  existed  between  Her  Majesty's 
Government  and  the  President  of  the  Transvaal.'  Mr. 
Sauer  said,  among  other  things,  that  he  could  hardly 
believe  the  High  Commissioner  would  be  so  injudicious 
as  to  go  to  Johannesburg.  '  I  do  not  say,'  he  argued, 
*  that  they  are  on  the  verge  of  revolution  in  Johannes- 
burg, but  I  do  say  that  the  population  of  that  town  is 
in  such  an  excited  condition  that  the  least  encourage- 
ment, even  if  it  were  accidental,  on  the  part  of  the  High 
Commissioner  might  lead  to  very  serious  consequences, 
and  a  state  of  things  which  everybody  in  this  country 
would  deeply  deplore.'  Mr.  Merriman  said  in  the 
course  of  his  speech,  '  Let  the  residents  of  the  Trans- 
vaal and  the  Government  fight  out  their  own  differences' 
— a  noble  sentiment  for  one  Englishman  to  harbour 
towards  his  countrymen  ! 

Not  a  word  of  sympathy  was  expressed  for  the 
Uitlanders,  and  even  the  Cape  Town  papers  were 
strangely  silent  at  the  time.  What  Mr.  Rhodes' 
reasons  were  for  non-interference  in  the  Transvaal 
then  no  one  will  know  until  that  gentleman  writes  his 
own  apologia.  Within  six  months  he  had  changed  his 
mind.  Financial  reasons  can  hardly  have  influenced 
him ;  the  interests  of  his  friends  might  affect  him,  but 
he  is  not  a  man  who  considers  his  personal  advantage. 
He  is  nevertheless  greatly  to  blame  for  not  having 
supported  the  Uitlander  cause  firmly  at  that  time ; 
and,  in  fact,  for  so  little  sympathising  with  it  that  he 
objected  to  a  vote  of  sympathy  when  the  storm  of 
indignation  from  Johannesburg  was  making  itself  felt, 
and  threats  were  used  of  boycotting  the  Cape  Railway 
route  in  favour  of  a  colony  (Natal)  which  had  always 
stood  by  loyally  when  the  vital  principles  of  the  Empire 
were  at  stake.  This  failure  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Rhodes 
was  the  cause  of  much  trouble  in  the  future  ;  he  could 


CESAR'S  FEET  OF  CLAY  155 

have  made  the  Liberal  Government  take  notice,  were 
they  even  ever  so  disincHned  to  help. 

Meantime  the  National  Union  had  invited  the  High 
Commissioner  to  visit  Johannesburg  (an  invitation  of 
which  Mr.  Sauer  seems  to  have  had  very  early  intima- 
tion), where  he  was  sure  of  a  very  hearty  reception. 
President  Kruger  was,  of  course,  opposed  to  his  going, 
because  he  must  there  have  formed  some  idea  of  the 
tremendous  force  behind  the  Reform  movement.  He 
wrote  urging  Sir  H.  Loch  not  to  accept,  'as  he  was 
afraid  a  collision  would  occur  with  the  burghers,  for 
which  he  would  not  be  responsible.'  This  was,  of 
course,  nonsense.  Had  Sir  Henry  Loch  visited 
Johannesburg,  he  would  have  been  received  by  30,000 
Loyalists  or  more,  and  if  the  police  could  not  have 
controlled  the  few  Boers  who  might  have  been  there, 
the  crowd  very  soon  would.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
visit  would  have  so  exposed  the  weakness  of  the 
Republic  that  Kruger  was  determined  to  prevent  it  at 
all  costs,  and  it  was  partly  on  this  account,  we  believe, 
that  Sir  Henry  Loch  obtained  the  cessation  of  the 
commandeering.  The  Transvaal  Government  had 
really  no  diplomatic  standing  in  the  matter,  for  the 
Portuguese  were  exempted  by  treaty,  and  as  the 
French  and  Germans  came  under  the  '  most  favoured 
nation '  treatment,  the  British  were  equally  entitled 
to  it  both  as  a  friendly  Power,  and  also  under  the  Con- 
vention, which  insured  our  subjects,  in  certain  respects, 
equal  rights  to  those  enjoyed  by  other  inhabitants  of 
the  country,  quite  apart  from  the  points  in  General 
Cameron's  despatch. 

Since  this  was  written,  we  have  received  the  most 
important  corroboration  of  our  surmise  concerning  the 
real  cause  of  Sir  H.  Loch's  success  in  abolishing  com- 
mandeering. We  have  the  greater  pleasure  in  referring 
to,  it,  as  it  shows  Mr.  Kotze  in  a  very  good  light,  and 


1S6  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

explains  the  difficulty  which  some  of  his  friends  had  in 
reconciling  his  judgment  on  the  commandeering  case, 
from  a  local  point  of  view,  with  the  principles  of  inter- 
national law. 

*  On  the  day  when  Sir  Henry  Loch  arrived  at 
Pretoria,  Chief  Justice  Kotze  received  a  note  from 
Dr.  Leyds  asking  him  to  come  round  to  the  Govern- 
ment Office,  as  the  President  was  very  anxious  to  see 
him.  This  was  shortly  after  the  President  had  left  the 
High  Commissioner.  On  the  Chief  Justice's  arrival 
he  found  Messrs.  Kruger  and  Leyds  alone.  Leyds  was 
as  white  as  a  sheet,  probably  owing  to  the  fright  he  got 
at  the  welcome  to  Sir  H.  Loch.  Kruger  then  handed 
him  a  despatch  from  the  acting  High  Commissioner, 
General  Cameron  (quoted  on  p.  131),  which  had  been 
in  the  hands  of  the  Boer  Government  some  time  before 
it  was  shown  the  Chief  Justice,  Having  read  the 
despatch,  the  President  said  that  Sir  H.  Loch  had  also 
pressed  the  point,  and  he  asked  for  the  Chief  Justice's 
opinion  on  the  matter,  and  as  to  whether  the  decision 
of^the  High  Court  had  not  settled  the  question.  Mr. 
Kotze  told  him  that  he  must  not  confound  or  mix  up  the 
decision  of  the  Court  with  the  request  of  Her  Majesty's 
Government.  The  decision  of  the  Court  was  based  on 
the  local  law,  and  was  a  judicial  matter.  The  request  of 
Her  Majesty's  Government  was,  however,  a  practical  one, 
and  to  that  there  could  be  but  one  answer.  The  High 
Commissioner  was  quite  within  his  right  not  merely  to 
ask,  but  to  demand,  that  British  subjects  should  be  placed 
on  the  same  footing  as  those  of  other  nationalities  with 
whom  the  Transvaal  had  made  treaties,  and  who  had 
the  benefit  of  the  '  most  favoured  nation  '  clause.  He 
also  impressed  upon  Kruger  the  necessity  of  yielding, 
and  showed  him  the  incongruity  of  doing  otherwise  by 
asking  him  how  he  could  with  a  good  grace  refuse  so 
reasonable   a   request    made    by    Great    Britain,   with 


CESAR'S  FEET  OF  CLAY  157 

whom  he  had  a  Convention,  and  who  had  j:j^iven  him 
back  the  country,  when  he  had  granted  by  treaty 
exemptions  to  the  subjects  of  such  small  countries  as 
Holland,  Belgium,  and  Portugal.  Kruger  then  re- 
quested him  to  make  that  statement  in  the  Volksraad, 
the  Chief  replying  "  that  he  would  not  merel}'  say  it  in 
the  Volksraad,  but  would  proclaim  it  from  the  house- 
tops," for  it  was  the  only  right  and  just  thing  to  do. 
The  President  subsequently  got  up  and  went  upstairs 
to  the  First  Volksraad,  and  the  interview  terminated. 
The  next  day  the  Chief  Justice  received  a  note  from 
Dr.  Leyds  asking  him  by  desire  of  the  President  to 
attend  the  Volksraad,  which  he  did,  and  found  the 
doors  all  locked.  A  mounted  policeman  (he  was,  how- 
ever, not  then  on  his  charger)  gave  a  peculiar  knock  on 
the  door  as  it  seemed,  and,  mirabile  didu,  Leyds  him- 
self was  the  man  who  came  to  open  the  door  of  the 
First  Volksraad.  The  Chief  entered,  and  found  the 
First  and  Second  Volksraad  members  in  secret  session. 
The  President  explained  that  he  had  sent  for  Mr.  Kotze, 
the  question  on  the  order  being  the  request  of  the  High 
Commissioner.  The  Chief  Justice  then  repeated,  speak- 
ing in  a  very  earnest  and  decided  tone,  what  he  had 
already  the  previous  day  told  President  Kruger.  The 
result  was  that  the  First  Volksraad  passed  a  resolution 
authorizing  the  Government  to  draw  up  a  treaty  on  the 
subject  with  Her  Majesty's  Government  exempting 
British  subjects  from  personal  military  service.  The 
treaty,  however,  has  never  yet  been  finally  approved 
by  the  Volksraad.' 

The  Uitlanders'  case  was  far  stronger  with  the  com- 
mandeering than  without  it,  and  had  they  known  it 
was  to  be  the  only  one  of  their  rights  to  be  wrung  from 
Mr.  Kruger,  they  would  never  have  asked  for  the  inter- 
ference of  the  Home  Government. 

On  the  28th  the  Hon.  John  Tudhope  acknowledged 


158  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

the  receipt  of  Sir  Henry  Loch's  wire  postponing  his 
visit  to  Johannesburg,  and  stated  that  a  deputation  from 
the  EngHsh  residents  of  the  Witwatersrand  would  be 
presented  to  him  on  the  following  day  at  five  o'clock. 
In  the  course  of  the  message  he  says  :  '  British  subjects 
in  the  State  are  much  afraid  that  the  extreme  gravity  of 
the  present  crisis  and  the  necessity  for  giving  immediate 
relief  from  the  intolerable  burdens  that  have  been  im- 
posed upon  them,  as  well  as  from  the  condition  of 
political  serfdom  to  which  they  have  been  reduced,  has 
not  yet  been  adequately  realized  by  the  Government  and 
Volksraad  of  the  Republic.  While  yet  assured  that  in 
Your  Excellency's  hands  their  interests  will  be  satis- 
factorily safeguarded,  they  would  respectfully  but  very 
earnestly  ask  Your  Excellency  to  use  your  powerful  in- 
fluence in  obtaining  for  British  subjects  in  the  South 
African  Republic  immediate  relief  from  these  burdens, 
and  a  full  recognition  of  their  rights  and  privileges  as 
law-abiding  citizens,  who  have  contributed  so  largely  to 
the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the  State.' 

On  the  2gth  the  deputation  from  Johannesburg, 
headed  by  the  Hon.  John  Tudhope,  Hon.  J.  W.  Leonard, 
Q.C.,  Mr.  St.  John  Carr,  and  others,  handed  in  the 
Johannesburg  petition,  signed  by  14,800  signatures, 
making  a  total  with  the  Pretoria  petition  of  over 
16,000  signatures.  In  an  eloquent  speech  Mr.  Tudhope 
pointed  out  '  the  grievances  under  which  the  Uitlanders 
suffered ;  the  scornful  reception  of  their  desires  by  the 
Volksraad  recently ;  and  their  being  liable  to  military 
service  under  the  Commando  Law,  without  the  slightest 
chance  of  sharing  in  the  government  of  the  State  or 
the  privileges  of  the  burghers.  The  interference  of 
Her  Majesty's  representatives  had  only  been  asked  as  a 
last  resort,  as  all  other  representations  by  means  of 
deputations,  meetings,  and  petitions  to  the  Volksraad 
had  failed.'     To  the  great  surprise  of  the  deputation. 


CESAR'S  FEET  OF  CLAY  159 

His  Excellency,  in  thanking  them  for  the  hearty 
welcome  conveyed,  regretted  that  he  could  not  receive 
them  in  the  centre  of  their  great  city ;  advised  them 
to  work  in  a  conciliatory  manner  with  the  Government  for 
the  redress  of  their  grievances;  and  informed  them  that 
the  Government  had  acceded  to  his  request  not  to 
commandeer  British  subjects  in  the  future.' 

The  pubHc  thought  that  Sir  Henry  Loch's  visit  had 
only  just  commenced.  They  knew  their  grievances 
would  cause  lengthy  discussion,  and  it  therefore  came 
as  a  great  shock  when  they  heard  that  he  was  leaving 
at  once  for  Cape  Town.  This  movement  was  kept  very 
secret,  but  the  fact  that  steam  was  being  kept  up  on 
the  High  Commissioner's  special  train  revealed  the 
truth  of  the  information. 

All  seemed  hopeless  at  the  moment,  but  the  receipt 
of  a  telegram  from  the  five  commandeered  men,  stating 
that  they  had  been  turned  out  on  the  veld  by  the  Boers 
without  any  food  or  means  of  conveyance  to  Pietersburg, 
caused  one  of  the  Loyalists  to  endeavour  to  see  Sir 
Henry  Loch,  and  to  seize  the  opportunity  of  making 
a  last  appeal  to  that  gentleman.  Government  officials 
passed  in  and  out,  and  still  the  High  Commissioner 
could  not  be  seen.  At  last  Sir  Graham  Bower  appeared, 
and  said,  '  The  Governor  can  see  nobody.  What  is 
your  business  with  him  ?'  The  gentleman  in  question 
replied  it  was  of  a  private  nature,  and  implored  Sir 
Graham  in  vain  to  let  him  see  Sir  Henry  Loch.  When 
he  at  last  reluctantly  produced  the  wire.  Sir  Graham 
exclaimed,  '  It  is  false  !  The  Government  have  just 
informed  us  that  the  prisoners  have  received  every 
attention.' 

We  should  like  to  ask  Sir  Graham  Bower  why  he 
preferred  the  evidence  of  the  Boers  to  that  of  his  fellow- 
countrymen  ?  We  shall  come  to  the  actual  experiences 
of  these  men  at  the  front  later  on. 


i6o  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

As  if  he  had  not  done  so  sufficiently,  Sir  Henry  Loch 
completed  our  humiliation  by  addressing  the  Raads 
prior  to  his  departure  on  the  2gth.  He  assured  them  of 
the  friendship  of  Her  Majesty's  Government ;  he  said 
there  were  questions  which  arose  which  required  give 
and  take  on  both  sides,  but  which  in  the  end  would  go 
to  strengthen  the  feeling  of  friendship  between  the  two 
countries,  which  he  hoped  would  ever  exist.  He  felt 
he  could  depend  upon  the  friendly  feelings  of  the  Pre- 
sident when  questions  arose  between  his  Government 
and  the  Transvaal. 

Mr.  Wolmarans,  Chairman  of  the  First  Volksraad, 
expressed  his  pleasure  at  seeing  the  distinguished  visitor 
(whose  presence  must  at  the  same  time  have  been  gall 
and  wormwood  to  that  gentleman).  He  stated  that  it 
would  always  be  the  desire  of  the  members  to  keep 
on  terms  of  friendship  with  Great  Britain,  and  he 
hoped  relations  would  not  be  strained /or  a  considerable 
time  to  come.''  Yes,  not  until  the  Transvaal  had  com- 
pleted its  schemes  and  its  armaments  ! 

Shortly  afterwards  the  President  attended  another 
little  seance.  The  mining  magnates,  who  knew  which 
side  their  bread  was  buttered,  were  anxious  to  tender  him 
their  sympathy ;  while  at  the  same  time  they  felt  rather 
sore  about  the  Cyanide  Monopoly  business,  and  other 
little  jobs  which  were  in  progress.  Headed  by  Mr.  Lionel 
Phillips,  Chairman  of  the  Chamber  of  Mines,  they  pre- 
sented an  address  '  disclaiming  all  sympathy  with  the 
demonstration  on  the  arrival  of  the  High  Commissioner, 
assuring  him  of  their  support,  but  pointing  out  certain 
grievances.'  The  President  handed  them  a  written 
reply,  so  that  there  should  be  no  mistake,  in  the  course 
of  which  he  stated  :  '  I  thank  you  for  the  kindly  senti- 
ments you  express  in  the  address,  although  I  cannot 
refrain  from  remarking  upon  the  expressions  which 
reflect    upon   the    Legislature,    which    expressions   are 


CESAR'S  FEET  OF  CLAY  l6i 

somewhat  out  of  place  in  an  address  to  me.'  The 
able  hands  of  Messrs.  Leyds  and  Esselen  can  be  traced 
in  the  latter  clause  of  the  reply,  which  was  certainly 
neat. 

It  is  our  object  to  show  that  the  movement  for  equal 
rights  was  not  a  capitalistic  one,  but  that  the  capitalists 
attached  themselves  to  it  in  their  own  despair.  At  that 
time  Mr.  Phillips  wrote  home,  saying  '  he  did  not  care 
about  the  franchise,'  a  fact  which  has  been  thrown  m  his 
face  over  and  over  again  by  Dr.  Leyds.  But  Mr.  Phillips 
was  nominally  a  strong  supporter  of  the  Government ; 
he  was  busy  making  money  for  himself  and  friends,  and 
it  was  not  until  he  and  his  people  saw  that  they  might 
as  well  have  their  money  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  as 
continue  to  allow  the  Boers  to  make  '  ducks  and  drakes' 
of  the  country,  that  they  joined  the  Uitlander  cause. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  our  case  would  have  been  far  better 
without  them,  because  they  furnished  the  Boers  with 
a  strong  argument  in  their  favour,  an  argument  which 
they  have  always  used  since  the  mining  magnates 
joined  the  agitation  for  constitutional  rights. 

On  the  evening  of  the  29th  a  tremendous  crowd 
assembled  to  see  the  High  Commissioner  off  to  Cape 
Town.  Heavy  guards  were,  however,  put  on  the 
railway-station,  and  this  time  admittance  to  the  plat- 
form was  prohibited. 


II 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  RHODESIAN  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  FEET  OF  CLAY 

There  were  now  four  factors  in  South  African 
politics,  the  Krugerites  and  the  Advanced  Africanders, 
with  leanings  towards  Mr.  Kruger ;  the  Progressive 
Africanders,  who  looked  to  Mr.  Rhodes  for  guidance ; 
and  the  Loyalists. 

Mr.  Kruger's  policy,  which  had  been  carefully  screened 
in  the  past,  now  took  more  definite  shape ;  this  found 
expression  in  the  President's  parable  at  the  festivities 
on  the  opening  of  the  Netherlands  Railway,  when  he 
compared  the  Transvaal  to  a  child,  which,  if  interfered 
with  by  anyone,  would  speedily  find  a  champion  else- 
where.    Dr.  Leyds  had  been  sounding  Berlin  and  other 
centres  with  the  object  of  obtaining  sympathy  and  more 
active  support  against  Great  Britain.     In  this  he  was 
successful,   as  many  commercial  advantages  could  be 
offered  by  the  Transvaal ;  and  the  ambition  of  Germany 
to  found  a  Colonial  Empire  was  of  the  greatest  assist- 
ance to  him.     President  Kruger  was  thus  disposed  to 
develop  his  plans  with  less  secrecy,  taking  great  care 
that  his  diplomacy  should  always  be  plausibly  correct 
where  there  was  any  likelihood  of  his  actions  being 
brought  to  book  under  the  '  foreign  relations  clause '  of 
the  London  Convention  (see  Appendix  D). 

To  trace  this  foreign  intrigue  to  its  source,  we  must 


RHODESIAN  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  FEET  OF  CLAY    163 

go  right  back  to  the  Boer  protest  against  the  annexa- 
tion, where  it  is  stated  that  an  appeal  would  be  made 
to  foreign  Powers,  one  of  its  after-consequences  being 
the  seizure  of  the  Delagoa  Bay  Railway  by  the  Portu- 
guese authorities.  This  act  was  purely  and  simply  the 
work  of  the  Transvaal  Government,  prompted  by  the 
fear  that  the  company,  being  largely  English,  would 
successfully  interfere  with  the  various  schemes  which 
the  President  had  in  view.  To  get  the  control  into  the 
hands  of  the  Portuguese,  who  know  the  virtues  of 
'  palm  oil '  almost  as  well  as  Mr.  Kruger,  was  a  matter 
of  importance  to  the  President,  because  the  railway 
would  thereby  practically  become  an  adjunct  of  the 
Netherlands  South  African  Railway.  The  British 
Government  ought,  of  course,  to  have  insisted  on  the 
return  of  the  railway  to  its  rightful  owners ;  but  they 
once  more  trifled  with  their  responsibilities,  and  allowed 
the  matter  to  go  to  arbitration.  That  was  upward  of 
nine  years  ago,  and  the  award  of  the  Swiss  arbitrators 
has  not  been  fully  published  yet  (igoo). 

Mr.  Kruger  cannot  be  accused  of  inconsistency.  He 
had  made  up  his  mind  as  regards  railway  matters  so 
far  back  as  1884,  when  he  opened  up  those  valuable 
connections  in  Lisbon,  to  which  we  have  already 
alluded ;  his  friends  there  were  only  too  eager  to  assist 
the  Republic  at  a  time  when  its  growing  wealth  gave 
hope  of  favours  to  come.  Thanks  only  to  the  great 
influence  which  England  possesses  in  the  highest 
quarters  of  that  country,  the  attempts  at  acquisition 
of  territory,  and  the  purchase  of  the  railway,  with 
certain  rights  at  Delagoa  Bay,  fell  through. 

When  our  position  was  secured  by  the  valued  '  right 
of  pre-emption '  under  the  MacMahon  award,  and  sub- 
sequently formally  included  in  a  treaty  with  Portugal, 
attempts  were  made  to  get  the  Great  Powers  to 
nationalize  the  port,  and  to  bind   themselves  not  to 

II — 2 


l64  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

permit  any  other  Power  to  purchase  or  annex  it.  It 
is  on  this  latter  point  that  the  Boers  have  met  with 
more  or  less  success,  as  they  have  foiled  the  many 
attempts  made  by  Great  Britain  to  obtain  control  of 
Delagoa  Bay  with  the  consent  of  Portugal.  Whenever 
negotiations  have  been  on  the  point  of  completion,  the 
interference  of  one  or  other  of  the  Powers  has  caused 
them  to  fall  through. 

The  Boer  cum  German  policy  was  only  pursued  by 
the  wily  President  as  a  means  to  an  end.  He  knew  that 
he  could  only  rely  on  Germany's  assistance  to  a  certain 
point,  because  England  would  outbid  him  if  forced  to 
do  so.  On  one  occasion,  speaking  to  a  German  officer 
after  the  Raid,  who  was  alluding  to  the  assistance 
Germany  was  prepared  to  render,  he  said,  *  It  is  all  very 
well  to  talk  about  what  you  will  do,  but  when  the  old 
lady  says  "  Booh  !"  you  are  only  too  glad  to  keep  quiet ;' 
he  was  referring  to  the  defined  position  which  England 
took  up  against  German  sympathy  after  the  Raid.  This 
point  was  reached  when  the  Anglo-German  Treaty  was 
concluded — a  treaty  which,  when  published,  will  prob- 
ably meet  with  much  criticism,  its  sole  object  apparently 
being  to  prevent  Germany  from  interfering  with  our 
South  African  policy,  as  she  receives  in  return  many 
valuable  considerations  from  us.  It  was,  of  course,  a 
protective  measure  against  a  coalition  of  three  Great 
Powers  against  us ;  but  an  alliance  with  the  United 
States  and  Japan,  on  almost  any  terms,  would  have 
been  esteemed  preferable  by  British  South  Africans, 
who  distrust  the  bond-fides  of  Germany.  This  dis- 
trust first  found  expression  in  1894,  when  it  became 
apparent  that  we  had  nursed  a  snake  in  our  bosom, 
which  had  seized  the  first  opportunity  to  wound  its 
friend  and  protector  of  the  past.  One  cannot  think 
that  the  Emperor's  policy,  great  as  his  ambition  is,  can 
be  anti-English ;   but  his  advisers  have  certainly  done 


RHODESIAN  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  FEET  OF  CLAY    165 

their  utmost  to  thwart  Britain's  legitimate  aspirations 
in  South  Africa. 

The  war  has  shown  that  England  has  few  friends  on 
the  Continent,  and  it  would  not  be  surprising  to  learn 
that  this  unpopularity  has  been  largely  the  work  of 
Boer  agents.  Both  before  and  after  the  Jameson  Raid 
they  have  spared  no  pains  to  vilify  us  as  a  nation 
Dr.  Leyds  has  openly  subsidized  the  European  press, 
and,  we  regret  to  admit  it,  a  section  of  the  English 
press  too.  So  daring  is  he  in  his  method  that  he  has 
succeeded  in  '  acquiring  influence  '  where  many  another 
would  have  failed  ;  he  will  subsidize  any  writer  who 
may  have  an  opening  in  a  recognised  organ,  and  gets 
his  views  advanced  at  will.  He  has  nothing  to  learn 
from  Bismarck  in  methods,  in  which  he  stands  un-^ 
rivalled  to-day. 

Diplomacy  such  as  ours  could  not  expect  to  compete 
successfully  with  that  of  the  Boers,  which  is  adapted 
to  their  very  special  requirements,  and  to  deal  with  a 
Kruger  one  must  fight  him  with  his  own  weapons,  and 
those  weapons  are  such  as  Englishmen  of  the  old 
school  would  perhaps  scorn  to  use ;  but  without  which 
failure  is  certain.  To  subsidize  paper  against  paper, 
to  make  secret  service  meet  secret  service — these  are 
the  only  ways  which  could  lead  to  success. 

'  To  do  evil  that  good  may  come '  is  an  axiom  which 
will  find  exponents  in  South  Africa  so  long  as  Oom 
Paul  is  a  power  for  evil,  and  only  with  his  cessation 
from  practical  politics  may  it  be  dispensed  with.  It 
is  fortunate  for  South  Africa  that  Mr.  Rhodes,  who 
has  now  come  forward  as  the  Uitlander  champion,  has 
not  shrunk  from  adopting  it. 

In  making  this  assertion,  we  desire  to  be  strictly 
impartial,  and  in  describing  his  work  neither  to  extol 
his  successes  nor  minimize  his  errors.  To-day  Mr.  Rhodes 
is  responsible  for  much  of  the  trouble  in  South  Africa; 


i66  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

but  if  wreck  and  ruin  have  occurred  through  the  failure 
of  his  plans,  it  is  due  to  him  to  say  that  he  acted  always 
with  the  best  of  intentions.  The  way  to  a  warmer  place 
than  Rhodesia  is  said  to  be  paved  with  good  intentions  ; 
let  us  hope  that,  in  spite  of  the  Krugerian  methods 
which  Mr.  Rhodes  has  used,  he  will  not  find  in  his 
old  age  that  personal  ambition  has  overreached  itself 
or  that  the  highest  of  motives  cannot  efface  the  memory 
of  these  expedients. 

Things  in  the  Transvaal  were  drifting ;  the  Malaboch 
War  was  dragging  on  its  weary  way  in  spite  of  the 
congratulations  of  the  Governor  of  the  Cape  Colony 
on  the  capture  of  Malaboch's  kraal. 

The  internal  condition  of  lawlessness  went  on.  A 
glance  at  the  newspaper  files  of  1894  reveals  the  fact 
that  on  July  5,  in  Johannesburg,  a  disturbance  was 
caused  at  a  fire  owing  to  the  brutality  of  the  police,  full 
particulars  of  which  were  published  in  the  Critic  at  the 
time,  and  on  October  8  a  policeman  named  Van  Voeren, 
who  was  interfering  with  a  servant  girl,  on  being  remon- 
strated with  by  her  mistress,  a  Mrs.  Simpson,  kicked 
the  lady  in  the  abdomen,  and  she  died  from  the  effects. 
In  1899  matters  like  these  became  generally  known, 
and  the  Transvaal  Police  was  the  subject  of  vigourous 
comment  in  the  English  press  ! 

To  revenge  themselves  for  the  forced  abandonment  of 
commandeering,  the  Government  made  levies  of  large 
sums  of  money  from  British  subjects,  pretending  towards 
the  British  authorities  that  they  were  general  and  not 
confined  to  Uitlanders.  This  statement  was  an  absolute 
falsehood.  Proposals  were  also  made  to  tax  the  property 
and  interests  of  absentees. 

On  July  16  a  mass  meeting  of  the  Transvaal  National 
Union  was  held  under  the  chairmanship  of  the  Hon. 
John  Tudhope,  and  speeches  were  delivered  by  Messrs. 
Leonard,  Wessels,  and  James  Hay.  Mr.  Leonard's  speech 


RHODESIAN  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  FEET  OF  CLAY    167 

was  up  to  his  usual  high  standard,  and  Mr.  Wessels, 
who  spoke  as  a  more  representative  Africander  than 
Paul  Kruger  himself,  appealed  to  the  capitalists  not  to 
stand  aloof  when  their  fellow-Uitlanders  called  on  them 
for  assistance.  He  concluded  a  telling  speech  with  the 
following  quotation  from  Byron's  '  Don  Juan'  as  applied 
to  the  waverers : 

*  A  land  of  slaves  shall  ne'er  be  mine — 
Dash  down  yon  cup  of  Samian  wine  !' 

The  resolution  of  which  we  give  an  extract  states, 
'That  this  meeting  of  the  Transvaal  National  Union, 
while  repudiating  the  unfounded  charges  made  against 
the  Union  of  seeking  to  undermine  the  independence 
of  the  Republic,  hereby  protests  most  emphatically 
against  the  recent  action  of  the  Volksraad.'  It 
proceeds  to  deplore  the  franchise  legislation  of  the 
Raad,  and  to  urge  all  who  value  the  rights  of  citizen- 
ship to  join  the  Union. 

The  meeting  created  a  great  deal  of  enthusiasm,  and 
was  remarkable  as  showing  the  tendency  on  the  part 
of  some  of  the  speakers  to  place  no  hope  in  future  on 
imperial  interference,  and  to  strike  out  for  a  Republic 
entirely  independent  of  British  assistance. 

The  resolution  passed  was  emphasized  at  a  banquet 
given  subsequently  to  the  returned  prisoners,  when  Mr. 
Leonard  laid  down  the  lines  of  future  policy.  His 
remarks  were  a  source  of  pain  to  us  Loyalists  of 
Loyalists,  who  felt  that  the  British  Government  must 
finally  assist  us,  and  that  the  only  remedy  lay  in  repre- 
sentation and  petition,  petition  and  representation,  to 
the  Mother  Country  until  she  listened  to  our  prayers. 
That  this  policy  was  a  sound  one  has  been  justified  by 
events,  but  one  can  quite  understand  that  a  man  like 
Mr.  Leonard,  who  had  been  working  year  in  and  year 
out  as  a  sturdy  Imperialist,  was  becoming  tired  of  the 


i68  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

indifference  of  the  Home  Government,  and  despaired 
of  help  from  that  source. 

The  different  meetings  which  had  been  held,  and 
more  particularly  the  announcement  that  a  big  wel- 
come was  to  be  given  to  the  five  prisoners  who  were 
returning  from  the  front,  decided  the  Government  to 
rush  through  the  Public  Meetings  Act  or  '  Gag ' 
Law,  as  it  was  called.  This  law  regulated  the  condi- 
tions under  which  the  public  were  allowed  to  congre- 
gate in  the  streets  and  hold  meetings  in  halls.  It 
expressly  forbade  the  right  of  meeting  in  the  open  air, 
except  with  the  consent  of  the  Government  or  legal 
authorities.  It  was  put  through  just  in  time  to  check 
the  reception  of  the  prisoners.  Not  content  with  this, 
the  Government  persuaded  some  of  their  wealthy 
friends  in  Johannesburg  to  prevent  the  Wanderers' 
Band  and  any  sympathizers  coming  over.  To  guard 
against  their  guilty  fears,  the  police  were  provided  with 
arms,  and  instructions  sent  forbidding  the  coach  to 
stop  or  put  down  any  passengers  near  the  town.  In 
spite  of  this,  a  large  number  of  friends  in  cabs  and 
carriages  went  out  to  receive  them,  and  escorted  them 
up  to  the  British  Residency  to  shake  hands  wath  the 
gentleman  who  had  done  so  much  to  obtain  their 
release.  They  were  formally  welcomed  by  Sir  Jacobus 
de  Wet,  who,  in  addressing  the  crowd,  said  '  the  men 
had  stuck  up  for  principles,  and  done  nothing  to  be 
ashamed  of;  they  acted  throughout  like  men.  The 
Courts  of  the  country  ordered  them  to  go  to  the  front, 
and  they  went  ;  they  had  now  returned,  and  he  was 
pleased  to  welcome  them.  They  all  knew  that  his  position 
debarred  him  from  making  speeches  to  a  great  extent. 
He  learnt  that  there  was  to  be  a  meeting  that  night. 
It  was  only  fair  they  should  meet  and  give  expression 
to  anv  grievances  they  might  have.  He  advised  them 
to  keep  order  and  do  nothing  that  could  be  construed 


RHODESIAN  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  FEET  OF  CLAY    169 

as  hostile  by  the  authorities.  They  should  keep  cool, 
and  make  their  complaints  in  a  dispassionate  manner.' 
'  God  save  the  Queen  '  was  then  sung,  and  hearty  cheers 
given  for  the  Queen  and  the  British  Agent. 

The  prisoners  stated  that  absolutely  no  provision 
was  made  for  them  by  the  authorities.  They  were  told 
to  bear  arms  by  Commandant  Ferreira,  C.M.G. !  and  on 
their  refusing  he  offered  to  release  them  if  they  would 
take  guns  and  go  up  to  the  laager.  They  declined,  saying 
they  would  only  go  under  escort.  One  of  the  Com- 
mandants then  said  that  if  they  would  not  fight  or  work 
they  should  starve.  The  object  of  this  was  to  enable 
the  Government  to  report  to  Sir  Henry  Loch,  then  in 
Pretoria,  that  there  was  no  objection  to  commandeering, 
as  even  the  prisoners  had  consented  to  take  up  arms ! 
But  the  trick  did  not  succeed.  Finally  they  were 
turned  out  on  the  veld,  and  peremptorily  ordered  to 
leave  the  place  without  any  provision  being  made  for 
their  transport  or  food ;  thanks  to  the  aid  of  friends, 
they  managed  to  get  to  Pietersburg,  where  funds  awaited 
them.  The  men  were  proud  to  relate  that,  in  spite  of 
many  insults,  they  never  parted  with  the  colours — 
little  rosettes  of  red,  white,  and  blue — which  they  wore 
on  leaving  Pretoria. 

Some  days  after  the  Pretoria  commando  returned 
from  the  front,  the  President,  in  addressing  the  men 
who  were  non-burghers,  said  :  *  They  were  deserving  of 
having  the  full  rights  of  citizenship,  and  would  receive 
them  too.  He  had  doubts  as  to  whom  he  should  trust 
formerly,  but  these  men  showed  by  their  deeds  that  they 
were  worthy  of  burgher  rights,  and  recognising  their 
merits,  he  should  see  they  did  not  go  unrewarded. 
Without  altering  the  law,  the  Raad  would  grant  burgher 
rights.'  These  honeyed  words,  however,  tempted  very 
few  of  the  British  subjects,  who  had  gone  under  com- 
pulsion, and  *  mistrusting  the  gifts  of  the  Greeks  '  they 


I70  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

wisely  refused  to  take  up  the  burgher  rights  so  mysteri- 
ously offered. 

At  the  end  of  July  Malaboch  surrendered,  and  the  war 
was  at  an  end  so  far  as  he  was  concerned.  Malaboch 
himself  was  something  of  a  hero,  and  one  could  not 
help  admiring  him.  He  fought  to  the  bitter  end,  and 
when  surrounded  without  a  chance  of  escape,  starving 
and  thirsty,  made  one  last  speech  of  defiance,  then 
hurled  himself  into  the  camp  fires  in  a  vain  effort  to 
end  his  miserable  existence.  On  his  arrival  in  Pre- 
toria hundreds  of  burghers  came  forward  to  shake 
hands  with  him,  and  this  gave  great  umbrage  to  the 
authorities,  who  got  the  President  to  address  them 
so  as  to  stop  it.  He  ordered  the  Rustenburg  men 
to  '  take  the  chief  up  to  the  gaol,  and  hand  him  over 
to  the  civil  authorities,  there  to  await  the  course  of 
the  law.'  It  seemed  from  this  that  the  chief  was 
to  have  a  fair  trial,  and  as  there  were  grave  doubts 
as  to  the  justice  of  the  war,  Messrs.  Leonard  and 
Wessels  were  retained  for  his  defence.  The  Govern- 
ment thereupon  declined  to  have  him  tried,  and  he  is 
still  in  Pretoria  Gaol,  which  makes  the  inference  a 
certainty  that  he  was  innocent,  and  that  the  Govern- 
ment dared  not  let  him  face  the  Courts  of  the  country. 
A  meeting  in  Johannesburg  was  addressed  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Dewdney  Drew,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Appelbee,  and  several 
other  English  clergymen,  proving  that  there  was  gross 
cruelty  in  the  campaign,  and  that  many  Kaffirs  had  been 
handed  over  to  practical  slavery  in  the  Zoutpansburg 
(under  the  Boer  indenture  system,  which  is  described 
in  Appendix  B).  They  passed  the  following  resolution : 
'  That  this  meeting,  representing  several  churches  in 
Johannesburg,  condemns  the  recent  war  with  Malaboch 
as  unjustifiable,  deplores  the  unnecessary  cruelties  prac- 
tised in  subduing  him,  and  urges  upon  the  Government 
the  duty  of  at  once  liberating  all  women  and  children  of 


RHODESIAN  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  FEET  OF  CLAY    171 

Malaboch's  tribe  who  are  now  held  as  slaves,  and  that  a 
copy  of  this  resolution  be  sent  to  the  Transvaal  Govern- 
ment and  such  other  persons  as  the  committee  elected 
may  think  necessary.' 

An  attempt  was  made  by  the  Government  to  obtain 
the  names  of  the  persons  who  were  averse  to  being 
commandeered,  which  was  considered  a  proof  of  enmity 
to  the  country,  and  a  circular  was  sent  through  Dr. 
Leyds'  office  to  General  Joubert  to  be  issued  to  the 
Veldcornets  requesting  them  '  to  compile  immediately 
lists  of  all  persons  who  can  be  considered  as  aliens, 
whether  they  elect  to  remain  exempt  from  commando 
service  or  not,  and  further  to  state  this  in  a  column 
after  their  names  upon  their  lists,  etc'  By  resolution 
of  the  Uitlanders'  Association,  it  was  resolved  to  make 
no  reply  to  the  Veldcornets  with  regard  to  the  various 
questions  asked,  leaving  them  to  form  their  own  con- 
clusions. 

As  showing  the  terrorism,  and  the  strength  of  the 
boycott  which  the  Government  instituted,  and  the 
petty  way  in  which  it  was  carried  out  from  a  social 
point  of  view,  it  may  be  mentioned  that  a  leading 
Loyalist  in  Pretoria  who  was  intimately  connected  with 
sporting  matters  was  removed  at  their  request  from  the 
committee  for  the  reception  of  the  Pretoria  commando. 
In  consequence  of  this  many  British  subjects  withdrew 
their  subscriptions.  The  same  gentleman  was  black- 
balled by  the  Rifle  Association  for  political  reasons, 
Mr,  J.  S.  Smit,  the  Railway  Commissioner,  who  acted 
as  chairman,  running  in  several  Volksraad  members  to 
sway  the  vote.  He  was  also  persecuted  in  many  other 
ways,  which  for  private  reasons  it  is  not  expedient  to 
divulge.  Many  attempts  were  made  to  vilify  his  private 
character  by  secret  agents,  fortunately  unsuccessfully. 
On  one  occasion  a  bogus  inquiry  was  raked  up  in  connec- 
tion with  some  sporting  matter,  in  which  the  Assistant- 


172  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

Veldcornet  spared  no  pains  to  prove  him  guilty,  and 
by  the  aid  of  false  witnesses  nearly  accomplished  that 
ruin  which  open  measures  could  not  attain.  Similar 
boycotts  were  carried  on  for  years,  and  in  many  cases 
the  very  friends  of  the  Loyalists  were  turned  against 
them.  They  were  accused  of  every  crime ;  in  fact,  all 
measures  were  exhausted  until  the  Government  was 
assured  that  they  were  muzzled,  and  would  be  of  no 
danger  to  them.  Of  course,  they  could  stop  their 
mouths,  but  they  could  not  stay  their  work,  and  that 
was  continued  unflinchingly. 

In  August  Mr.  Rhodes,  accompanied  by  Mr.  De 
Waal,  M.L.A.,  made  a  tour  of  Rhodesia,  and  returned 
via  Delagoa  Bay  and  Pretoria  to  the  Cape.  On  reach- 
ing the  Portuguese  elysium  he  found  everything  in  a 
turmoil,  as  the  native  tribes  were  in  open  insurrection, 
threatening  the  town.  This  was  ascribed  by  Pretoria 
to  Mr.  Rhodes,  and  the  German  papers,  duly  instructed, 
were  busy  attacking  this  gentleman.  Shortly  after- 
wards the  gunboats  See-Adler  and  Condor  arrived  at 
Delagoa  Bay,  and  have  remained  within  call  ever 
since.  Journeying  through  the  disaffected  country, 
Mr.  Rhodes  finally  reached  Pretoria  on  October  ii. 
Dr.  Jameson  being  now  included  in  the  party. 

The  following  day  Mr.  Rhodes,  accompanied  by 
Mr.  De  Waal,  and,  we  believe,  Dr.  Te  Water,  who  was 
in  Pretoria  at  the  time,  visited  the  President,  when 
Oom  Paul  received  a  lecture  from  that  gentleman 
which  he  will  probably  never  forget.  The  version  that 
reached  the  ear  of  the  public  was  that  Mr.  Rhodes 
informed  him  he  would  lose  his  country  unless  he 
changed  his  mode  of  government,  and  that  his  strictures 
were  so  severe  that  the  interpreter  was  almost  afraid 
to  translate  them  literally.  This,  however,  had  no 
effect    on    the    President's    policy ;    fixed  he  was,  and 


RHODESIAN  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  FEET  OF  CLAY    173 

fixed  he  would  remain  ;  although  he  has  had  a  very 
wholesome  fear  of  Mr.  Rhodes  since  then. 

The  Rhodesian  party  then  visited  Johannesburg,  and 
while  there  Mr.  Rhodes  was  approached  by  an  informal 
deputation  asking  him  to  assist  them  in  their  struggle 
for  equal  rights  in  the  Transvaal.  It  is  uncertain  as 
to  whether  he  made  any  definite  promises,  or  not.  By 
many  it  was  assumed  that  Mr.  Rhodes  stepped  into  the 
vortex  of  Transvaal  politics  on  his  own  initiative,  but 
it  must  in  justice  to  him  be  admitted  that  such  is  not 
the  case.  He  was  deliberately  invited,  so  that  to  have 
absolutely  refused  would  have  been  to  abandon  his 
countrymen.  With  this  step,  any  desire  to  rely  on 
direct  Imperial  aid  was  definitely  abandoned,  and  a 
Rhodesian  substitute  found  for  Caesar's  feet  of  clay. 

It  is  from  this  moment  that  Mr.  Rhodes  looms  large 
in  the  affairs  of  the  Republic.  Possibly  he  had  found 
out  that  his  attitude  with  regard  to  the  comman- 
deering incident  was  a  wrong  one,  and  that  he  must 
atone  for  his  mistake  as  far  as  possible.  Whatever  the 
reason  may  have  been,  his  motives  cannot  be  impugned; 
it  was  his  resolve  to  do  everything  alone,  without  Im- 
perial aid.  That  became  the  ruin  of  the  enterprise. 
The  Loyalists  felt  that  this  was  a  wrong  policy.  The 
Republic  would  have  to  cease  to  exist,  if  force  became 
necessary  to  change  the  nature  of  its  government.  No 
change  could  be  effective  which  did  not  destroy  those 
ambitions  which  were  fast  becoming  a  passion  with  the 
neo-Africander  community.  The  pleasure  of  treating  a 
race  such  as  the  British  as  a  subject  one,  the  feeling 
that  while  this  continued  they  had  a  storehouse  of 
wealth  to  draw  on,  was  too  fascinating  for  the  Boers 
to  be  abandoned  without  a  struggle — a  struggle  in 
which  all  of  them  would  be  involved.  It  was  absurd 
to  rely  on  a  revolution  for  the  substitution  of  general 
equality  for  white  men  in  place  of  Boer  tyranny,  and 


174  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

the  only  way  to  salvation  lay  in  an  appeal  to  the  power 
of  Great  Britain. 

In  this  decision  of  Mr.  Rhodes  we  have  the  key  to 
the  subsequent  action  of  the  capitalists  who  were  con- 
nected with  the  movement,  a  key  which  destroys  many 
of  the  Boer  arguments. 

Had  Mr.  Rhodes  not  interfered  in  Transvaal  politics, 
the  mining  magnates  would  never  have  given  a  hearty 
support  to  the  Uitlander  cause.  Individuals  might 
have  done  so,  but  the  majority  would  have  preferred  a 
policy  of  submission  backed  up  by  bribery,  which  was 
encouraged  by  the  Government,  and  which,  while 
impoverishing  the  country,  naturally  played  into  the 
hands  of  the  moneyed  men  so  long  as  there  were  valuable 
interests  at  stake. 

The  enormous  influence  of  Mr.  Rhodes  being  thrown 
into  the  scale  guided  these  gentlemen  along  the  thorny 
path  of  duty,  and  to  him  alone  must  be  given  credit  for 
their  change  of  policy,  which  became  apparent  in  1895, 
and  terminated  in  the  Raid.  Independent  men,  such 
as  Mr.  Lionel  Phillips  and  Mr.  George  Farrar,  who 
were  getting  tired  of  Boer  methods,  would  have 
jibbed  at  some  time  or  other,  but  assuredly  not  so 
soon  as  they  did  when  Mr.  Rhodes  took  his  place  at 
the  helm. 

The  change  was  at  once  noticed  in  official  circles, 
and  the  actions  of  the  Chamber  of  Mines  showed  that 
they  were  gradually  abandoning  the  old  policy  of 
cringing  to  the  Government.  Oom  Paul  then  played 
his  final  card,  and  the  Government  organs  started  the 
ever-popular  cry  of  '  Labour  versus  Capital,'  advancing 
arguments  which  were  sufficiently  sound  and  plausible 
to  produce  a  split  among  the  ranks  of  the  working 
men.  So  long  as  they  felt  the  Government  and  the 
capitalists  were  working  together,  they  had  the  feeling 
that  this  cry  was  false ;  when  a  change  occurred,  they, 


RHODESIAN  SUBSTITUTE  FOR  FEET  OF  CLAY    175 

ignorant  of  the  circumstances,  became  in  many  cases 
suspicious  of  the  intentions  of  both.  This  feeling  still 
exists,  because  the  interests  of  labour  and  capital  are 
even  more  diametrically  opposite  in  South  Africa  than 
they  seem  to  be  elsewhere.  Labour  is  becoming  con- 
scious that  ultimately  its  great  struggle  will  not  be  with 
the  Boers,  but  with  the  millionaires. 

It  was   a   fatal    error   on   Mr.    Rhodes'    part   to  let 
the  movement  appear  to  be  a  capitalistic  one.      He 
could  have  done  the  whole  thing  much  better  alone, 
confining  himself  to  merely  letting   them   know  that 
they  should  adopt  an  attitude  of  strict  neutrality  with 
regard   to    politics,    closing   an    eye   where    necessary. 
What  was  required  of  Mr.  Rhodes  was  financial  and 
diplomatic  support.     Had  he  furnished  the  funds,  the 
system  pursued  by  the  South  African  League  in  awaken- 
ing the  country  to  a  sense  of  its  responsibilities  could 
then  and  there  have  been  adopted,  so  that  when  the 
time  came  the  men  would  have  been  found  ready  to  go 
anywhere  and  do  an3^thing  with  working-men  as  leaders. 
A  little  opposition  from  the  mining  magnates  might 
have    done   the  cause  good.     In  case  of  failure,   Mr. 
Rhodes'  connection  with  it  would  have  changed  nothing 
in  his  brilliant  career  and  position,  and  if  the  leaders  were 
sacrificed,  public  opinion  in  England  would  have  been 
so  much  aroused  as  to  once  and  for  all  settle  the  ques- 
tions at  issue.    The  Loyalists  were  honestly  prepared  to 
make  any  sacrifice  provided  the  ultimate  result  was  the 
extinction  of  republicanism   as  a  basis  for  Africander 
supremacy  in  South  Africa,  whereas  the  mining  men 
and  their  satellites,  who  had  kept  out  of  politics  until 
they  became  fashionable,  had  no  fixed  purpose.     Some 
were  red-hot  republicans,  others  had  moderate  views, 
and  a  few,  it  was  whispered,  were  pro-Boer,  while  the 
minority  were  well-known  Loyalists,  who  unfortunately 
thought  they  were  doing  right  in  adopting  the  views  of 


176  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

the  majority.    With  such  a  heterogeneous  mass  nothing 
could  be  accomphshed  satisfactorily. 

There  should  have  been  one  head,  and  that  head 
should  have  been  Mr.  Rhodes ;  the  leader  on  the  spot 
might  have  been  Dr.  Jameson,  who  would  have  been 
only  too  willing  to  resign  his  career  in  Rhodesia  months 
before  a  start  was  made,  so  as  to  be  in  Johannesburg, 
and  yet  apparently  unconnected  in  any  way  with  the 
movement ;  and  the  first  steps  should  have  been  taken 
in  Pretoria. 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE    PLOT    THICKENS 

It  is  not  easy  for  the  contemporary  writer  properly 
to  appreciate  the  character  and  work  of  a  man  Hke 
Mr.  Rhodes.  Immense  abihty,  indomitable  courage, 
pertinacity,  and  strength  appeal  to  every  Englishman, 
and  yet  these  qualities  have  not  saved  Mr.  Rhodes 
from  the  reproach  of  unscrupulousness,  have  not  saved 
him  from  suspicion  of  unclean  motives.  We  prefer  to 
be  proud  of  our  great  countryman,  proud  of  his  ambi- 
tions, proud  of  his  patriotism.  His  dream  of  '  think- 
ing in  continents  '  was  the  outcome  of  an  ambitious 
brain,  but  his  quiet  pertinacity  and  persistency  has 
made  that  dream  a  reahty.  One  thing  is  certain,  that 
he  has  never  questioned  the  nobility  of  labour.  When 
Mr.  Rudd  and  he  went  into  the  ice  business  at  Kimberley, 
people  used  often  to  remark,  '  Who  is  the  lazy  man 
standing  in  the  door  of  the  establishment  smoking  his 
pipe  ?'  but  they  did  not  know  that  that  same  sleepy 
gentleman,  Mr.  Rhodes,  had  been  busy  all  night  making 
the  ice  which  was  to  keep  them  cool  during  the  day. 
Kimberley  was  not  exactly  a  correct  school  for  com- 
mercial morality,  and  many  well-known  men  who  made 
money  there  had  the  reputation  of  having  made  some 
of  it  out  of  illicit  diamond-buying,  which  was  not 
nearly  so  risky  in  the  old  days  as  now,  and  was  rather 
a  fashionable  amusement   at   the  time.     But   nothing 

12 


178  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

of  this  nature  has  ever  been  whispered  to  mar  Mr. 
Rhodes'  or  his  partner's  good  name.  He  made  his 
money,  so  far  as  observation  shows,  by  strict  business 
methods  and  financial  ability,  and  when  he  had  made 
it,  he  aspired  to  political  power  to  realize  those  schemes 
of  which  he  had  dreamed  in  his  youth. 

As  showing  the  great  belief  which  the  Jews  have  in 
him  as  a  financier,  the  writer  remembers  being  present 
while  a  special  telegram  describing  the  result  of  the 
De  Beers  Amalgamation  was  being  read  to  two  of  them 
up-country.  As  the  promise  of  the  future  and  the  rise 
in  the  shares  was  prophesied,  they  shook  hands  with 
one  another,  for  their  holdings  were  large  in  the 
company,  and,  with  grateful  thoughts  of  the  man  who 
was  enriching  them,  they  both  exclaimed,  '  He  is  a 
wonderful  man  !'  They  had  not  one  word  of  criticism 
of  his  financial  methods  ;  they  would  have  been  content 
to  follow  him  blindly  in  any  of  his  schemes  which  had 
not  a  philanthropic  basis. 

From  pit  to  Parliament  was  an  easy  stride,  and  here 
Mr.  Rhodes  met  his  first  fence.  To  pose  as  an  advocate 
of  Imperialism  then  was  to  court  a  speedy  political 
death.  The  future  of  the  Cape  Colony  was  in  the 
hands  of  the  Dutch  majority ;  to  attempt  to  work  out- 
side them  was  to  ensure  the  failure  of  his  plans.  Mr. 
Rhodes  adopted  a  middle  course.  He  became  an 
advocate  for  the  elimination  of  the  Imperial  factor  in 
South  Africa.  This  won  him  the  confidence  of  the 
Africander  Bond,  who  thought  they  saw  in  him  a 
convert  to  their  dream  of  a  United  South  African 
Republic  freed  from  the  shackles  of  British  supremacy, 
in  which  the  English  races,  duly  Africanderized,  would 
lose  their  distinctive  characteristics.  It  is  difficult 
of  proof  in  how  far  Mr.  Rhodes  was  committed  to 
an  independent  United  South  Africa,  with  himself  as 
President.     That  was  the  bait  which  the  Bond  party 


THE  PLOT  THICKENS  179 

held  out  to  him.  Mr.  Rhodes  would  in  some  measure 
have  been  justified  in  such  a  policy.  The  difficulty 
he  had  in  persuading  the  Imperial  authorities  to  assist 
him  with  his  hinterland  schemes,  the  trouble  to  get 
them  to  move  in  anything  affecting  their  interests — 
these  considerations  must  have  influenced  him. 

He  saw  them  let  Damaraland  and  Northern  Nama- 
qualand  pass  into  the  hands  of  Germany  without  a 
murmur.  He  witnessed  their  disgraceful  abandonment 
of  the  Transvaal,  their  anxiety  to  avoid  responsibility, 
their  feverish  desire  to  escape  any  fresh  obligations 
while  pursuing  a  *  parish-pump "  policy.  Would  this 
not  obviously  drive  an  ambitious  man  towards  the 
republican  ideal  ? 

With  great  difficulty  he  persuaded  the  British 
Government  to  guard  its  interests  in  Matabcleland, 
and  it  was  only  due  to  the  great  hold  which  he  had 
over  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  who  for  some  reason  or 
other  never  could  resist  Mr.  Rhodes'  arguments,  that 
he  succeeded  in  securing  the  rights  which  subsequently 
led  to  the  foundation  of  Rhodesia.  We  see  his  distrust 
in  Imperial  measures  in  his  opposition  to  the  Bechuana- 
land  Expedition,  when  he  must  have  known  it  to  be 
a  necessity,  and  the  only  way  by  which  the  road  to 
the  North  could  be  kept  open.  Without  force  nothing 
could  be  done  with  Mr.  Kruger,  who  would  have 
coolly  annexed  the  whole  of  the  territory,  and  thereby 
effected  a  junction  with  the  German  African  colonies. 
Mr.  Rhodes  has  to  thank  the  Rev.  Mr.  Mackenzie  for 
doing  what  he  failed  in,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  surprise 
that  he  has  never  acknowledged  the  claims  of  that 
gentleman,  or  accepted  unconditionally  the  statements 
of  his  friends  that  he  alone  kept  open  the  road  to  the 
North. 

Of  Mr.  Rhodes  and  General  Gordon  much  has  been 
written.     Perhaps  it  would   have   been   far  better  for 

12 — 2 


i8o  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

both  of  them  had  they  joined  hands  at  Khartoum. 
Mr.  Rhodes  would  have  bought  over  the  Mahdi  in  some 
way  or  other,  and  have  started  painting  the  map  red 
from  North  to  South,  instead  of  South  to  North,  a 
much  more  difficult  task. 

As  a  result  of  the  weakness  of  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment, Mr.  Rhodes  has  been  driven  to  many  shifts  and 
subterfuges  which  tend  to  mar  his  political  record. 
The  worst  instance  of  this  is  the  abandonment  of  the 
Swazies.  Mr.  Hofmeyr,  who  practically  acted  as  Mr. 
Rhodes'  agent,  had,  in  exchange  for  a  free  hand  in 
Rhodesia,  promised  the  Boers  Swazieland,  and  a  strip 
of  country  three  miles  wide  down  to  the  coast  through 
Swazieland,  Zambaan's  country,  and  Amatongaland  to 
Kosi  Bay,  with  a  grant  of  ten  miles  square  for  the 
purpose  of  a  harbour.  But  the  offer  of  a  port  was 
conditional  on  their  joining  the  Customs  Union  within 
three  years  of  the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  and  the 
control  of  foreign  relations  by  Great  Britain.  Mr. 
Kruger  accepted  the  former  and  refused  the  latter,  in 
the  hope  of  securing  a  port  and  giving  nothing  for  it. 

It  is  difficult  to  find  an  excuse  for  Mr.  Rhodes' 
deliberate  sacrifice  of  these  poor  natives,  who  were 
always  faithful  to  the  British,  and  fought  side  by  side 
with  us  in  the  Secocoeni  and  Zulu  Wars.  Strong  efforts 
were  made  by  the  Swazie  nation  to  prevent  absorption 
by  the  Boers,  and  the  deputation  they  sent  home  to 
protest  came  and  went  in  vain.  Mr.  Rhodes'  policy 
was  seen  in  the  fact  that  the  whole  of  the  press  with 
which  he  had  any  connection  in  South  Africa  refused 
to  entertain  the  idea  that  the  Swazies  had  any  right 
whatever  to  complain  at  being  handed  over  and  aban- 
doned. As  a  proof  of  this,  the  only  daily  paper  amongst 
the  English  and  Dutch  journals  which  persisted  in  its 
protest  was  the  Transvaal  Advertiser  of  Pretoria.  The 
Boer    Government    had   no   treaties    with   the   native 


THE  PLOT  THICKENS  l8i 

chiefs  in  the  North,  Mr.  Rhodes  having  frustrated  their 
efforts  in  that  direction.  We  had  obtained  those  treaties 
and  forestalled  them  by  an  effective  occupation,  which 
justified  us  in  refusing  to  entertain  claims  which  would 
not  have  been  recognised  by  any  European  Power.  If 
a  firm  front  had  then  been  shown,  the  Boers  would 
never  have  dreamt  of  armed  interference.  In  fact,  had 
each  of  the  Banjailand  trekkers  been  given  a  farm  in 
Rhodesia,  they  would  probably  have  settled  down  there 
without  any  demonstration. 

Mr.  Rhodes'  argument  against  this  is,  that  it  was 
impossible  to  get  the  High  Commissioner  to  take  such 
a  course.  Here  we  must  differ  from  him,  as  an  attempt 
to  invade  the  country  by  Mr.  Kruger  would  have  con- 
stituted a  casus  belli,  and  such  a  war  must  have  had 
the  support  of  the  British  public.  The  fact  of  the 
matter  is,  it  was  a  sop  to  Boer  susceptibilities  and 
prejudices,  while  it  satisfied  the  Bond;  and  that  is  why 
and  how  the  deal  was  arranged. 

Mr.  Rhodes  cannot  always  shrink  from  '  means  to- 
obtain  his  ends,'  and  that  he  used  the  Africander 
Bond  for  his  purposes  is  the  chief  cause  of  their 
bitterness  against  him  to-day.  It  is  related  of  him 
that,  at  a  banquet  given  to  Bond  delegates  in  Cape 
Town  some  years  ago,  Mr.  Hofmeyr  said  to  him  : 
*  Some  of  our  friends  object  to  your  giving  those  young 
Englishmen  who  have  been  fighting  for  you  farms  in 
Rhodesia ;  you  must  leave  the  farms  for  the  Africanders. 
Rather  give  them  money  instead.'  To  which  Mr.  Rhodes 
replied,  '  Oh,  they  will  get  the  farms  all  the  same.  The 
Englishman  prefers  money  to  farms,  and  the  Dutchman 
when  he  gets  ground  holds  it.'  There  is  a  good  deal  of 
truth  in  this  observation  ;  but  it  is  in  distinct  contradic- 
tion to  the  generally  accepted  idea  of  settling  the  English 
on  the  soil,  which  is  now  supposed  to  be  Mr.  Rhodes' 
great  object.     Assuming  that  it  was  to  put  them  off,  it 


i82  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

is  a  very  good  clue  to  the  means  which  Mr.  Rhodes 
was  forced  to  adopt  to  preserve  the  balance  of  power 
in  South  Africa. 

Many  reasons  have  been  given  for  the  sudden  con- 
version of  Mr.  Rhodes  to  Home  Rule ;  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  he  had  absolutely  no  interest  in  it.  He  wished  to 
make  certain  that  there  would  be  no  opposition  from  the 
Irish  party  to  his  Chartered  schemes,  and  there  was 
only  one  way  to  obtain  that,  viz.,  by  a  liberal  contribu- 
tion to  the  party  funds.  This  was  most  effective ;  the 
Home  Rulers,  while  thinking  they  were  being  followed, 
were  really  being  led  in  golden  strings. 

In  1894  Mr.  Rhodes  found  himself  the  virtual  head 
of  the  Africander  party,  Mr.  Hofmeyr  being  away  in 
Canada. 

President  Kruger  had  been  sulking  for  some  little 
time  at  the  failure  to  give  him  that  sole  control  of 
Swazieland  which  Mr.  Hofmeyr  had  promised,  and 
did  not  like  the  conditional  offer  of  a  port,  which  had 
been  made  provided  he  joined  the  Customs  Union. 

Anything  which  savoured  of  union  with  British  in- 
stitutions drove  Mr.  Kruger  mad  ;  and  the  tempting  offer 
of  a  seaport  (even  though  it  would  cost  ^^10,000,000 
to  construct,  the  estimated  cost  of  making  Kosi  Bay  a 
harbour),  which  would  have  got  many  things  from  the 
autocrat,  failed  in  this  instance,  because  it  only  bound 
him  faster  to  Great  Britain. 

Ever  since  i8go  Mr.  Kruger  had  cunningly  but 
secretly  been  locking  his  burghers  in,  and  he  was  not 
going  to  give  Mr.  Rhodes  a  key  to  open  the  gate  in  the 
wall  he  had  built. 

Whether  Mr.  Rhodes  feared  in  1894  that  his  position 
was  not  quite  safe  in  Charterland,  or  whether  the  mere 
thought  that  Mr.  Hofmeyr  had  entrusted  him  with  the 
party  made  him  anxious  to  show  that  he  was  worthy  of 
the  confidence :  from  one  cause  or  the  other  he  made 


THE  PLOT  THICKENS  183 

his  second  great  mistake  in  refusing  to  back  up  the 
case  of  the  Uitlanders.  Odd  as  it  may  sound,  he  may 
not  have  made  himself  acquainted  with  it.  The  fact  is 
that  Mr.  Rhodes  is  very  conservative,  and  his  information 
on  the  subject  of  affairs  in  the  Transvaal  would  probably 
be  conveyed  to  him  at  this  time  from  Bond  sources. 
Messengers  from  the  Transvaal  would  at  the  same  time 
be  placing  their  case  before  him,  while  the  influential 
advocates  on  the  other  side  were  few  and  far  between, 
and  they  had  no  one  to  plead  their  cause  in  Cape 
Town.  Besides,  Mr.  Rhodes  did  not  like  any  big  deal 
to  go  through  in  South  Africa  unless  he  played  the 
hand  himself.  At  any  rate,  he  failed  to  seize  the 
opportunity  which  was  offered. 

Mr.  Rhodes  has  a  supreme  contempt  for  individuals ; 
he  looks  on  humanity  as  a  complex  body,  to  be  dealt 
with  for  the  good  of  the  majority.  The  charm  of  this 
cynical  indifference  may  not  be  appreciated  by  the 
hangers-on  of  the  '  Colossus,'  but  it  does  not  detract 
from  his  outside  popularity.  An  instance  of  this  will 
be  remembered  on  the  occasion  when  one  of  his  prin- 
cipal opponents,  who  had  just  before  proposed  a 
motion  in  the  Cape  House  of  Assembly,  '  that  the  hold- 
ing of  office  as  Premier  of  the  Cape  Colony  was  incom- 
patible with  the  chairmanship  of  De  Beers  and  the 
Chartered  Company,'  took  office  under  him  the  moment 
a  split  occurred  in  the  Ministry.  Mr.  Rhodes  probably 
referred  to  this  gentleman  when,  chastening  unruly 
spirits,  he  said  :  '  You  think  I  cannot  fill  your  places 
in  the  Ministry.  Well,  I  have  another  hungry  dog  to 
whom  I  can  throw  a  bone — So-and-so.'  And,  greatly 
to  their  surprise,  he  was  right,  as  usual. 

It  is  this  cynicism  and  indifference  which  has  been  at 
the  bottom  of  whatever  mistakes  Mr.  Rhodes  has  made. 
Trusting  very  few,  he  leaves  the  direction  of  affairs  which 
he  should  control  himself  entirely  to  them.     He  either 


i84  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

trusts  a  man  in  everything  or  not  at  all.  Dr.  Jameson 
is  not  likely  to  forget  this  for  many  a  long  day.  It 
was  thus  at  Johannesburg  and  Pitsani.  Mr.  Rhodes 
should  have  been  at  one  of  these  places,  and  Dr. 
Jameson  at  the  other,  then  that  fatal  mistake  would 
not  have  been  made. 

We  have  already  alluded  to  Mr.  Rhodes'  visit  to 
Johannesburg,  and  the  efforts  which  were  made  by  the 
Reform  party  to  get  his  assistance.  As  stated,  there 
was  a  very  strong  republican  following  at  the  Rand, 
composed  mainly  of  the  American  section  and  the 
'  upper  ten ' ;  this  may  have  influenced  Mr.  Rhodes  in 
carrying  through  the  scheme  without  the  assistance  of 
the  Imperial  authorities,  which  would  have  meant  in 
the  event  of  war  the  adoption  of  the  British  flag.  No 
doubt  this  plan  was  discussed  at  Groot  Schuur  more 
than  once,  and  then  abandoned.  His  great  ambition 
to  solve  the  problem  himself,  standing  revealed  as  the 
one  man  in  South  Africa  who  could  do  it,  was  an 
additional  incentive. 

But  the  task  was  too  great,  and  the  strength  of  the 
Boers  had  been  underestimated.  Oom  Paul  was  not 
losing  sight  of  the  fact  that  his  policy  might  provoke 
reprisals,  and  he  was  steadily  increasing  his  arma- 
ments and  providing  for  the  erection  of  the  forts  which 
became  an  accomplished  fact  after  the  Raid.  He  had 
his  spies  everywhere,  and  the  secret  service  of  the  Re- 
public was  fast  becoming  the  best  in  the  world.  It 
was  thus  almost  impossible  to  keep  anything  secret, 
and  the  only  hope  of  success  would  have  been  in  an 
appeal  to  the  Imperial  Government  to  interfere,  on  the 
grounds  that  a  revolution  would  otherwise  occur  in  the 
country.  This,  being  an  open  policy,  if  strongly  sup- 
ported by  Mr.  Rhodes  would  have  been  successful.  If 
things  went  so  far,  the  Imperial  Government  could 
hardly  refuse  to  intervene,  more  especially  as   in  the 


THE  PLOT  THICKENS  185 

event  of  a  revolution  being  a  certainty  the  Boers  them- 
selves would  probably  have  appealed  to  Great  Britain, 
if  they  had  felt  that  they  could  not  quell  it  themselves. 
If  England  failed  again  in  her  obvious  duty,  then  a 
settlement  would  have  been  justifiable,  by  which  the 
Britishers  abandoned  all  rights  as  British  subjects,  and 
became  Africanderized  on  any  terms  Mr.  Kruger  and 
the  Bond  cared  to  offer. 

A  clever  move  of  Mr.  Kruger's  which  Mr.  Rhodes 
was  accused  of  forestalling  was  the  attempted  seizure 
of  Amatongaland  by  Boer  emissaries,  and  a  similar  plan 
on  the  part  of  German  subjects  to  annex  a  portion  of 
the  same  territory,  a  sort  of  *  No  man's  land '  (six 
minutes  of  a  degree  in  breadth),  which  extended  from 
Swazieland  right  down  to  Kosi  Bay,  between  the  boun- 
daries of  Amatongaland  and  the  Portuguese  territory. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  Mr.  Rhodes  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  matter,  except  that  he  may  have  stiffened 
the  Governor  (Lord  Loch)  on  the  subject.  The 
scheme  was  discovered,  and  resulted  in  the  Germans 
finding  the  Portuguese  flag  hoisted  on  the  strip  of 
territory  in  question,  while  Great  Britain  made  an 
effective  occupation  of  Amatongaland,  and  hoisted  the 
flag  in  Zambaan's  and  Umbegesa's  territory,  much  to 
the  disconcerting  of  the  Boer  emissaries,  who  had  no 
reason  to  believe  their  plans  had  been  given  awa\-. 
The  men  to  whom  England  owes  the  frustration  of 
these  designs  are  the  Vicomte  de  Matallha  and  Sir 
Jacobus  de  Wet,  neither  of  whom  has  received  the 
slightest  acknowledgment  for  the  services  m  question, 
which  stopped  Mr.  Kruger's  German-cu;»-Boer  designs. 
The  President  was  much  annoyed.  He  published  a 
protest  against  the  occupation,  claiming  that  the 
cession  of  Swazieland  gave  him  the  right  to  Zam- 
baan's land — a  tributary  chief  of  the  Swazies,  who 
held   territorial    rights   over   the   ground   in    question. 


i86  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

There  is  no  doubt  that,  had  he  made  an  effective 
occupation,  his  arguments  would  have  proved  some- 
what difficult  to  refute  unless  we  were  prepared  to 
come  to  ultimatum  point. 

Meanwhile  he  was  keeping  his  eye  on  the  Cape 
and  Orange  Free  State  Railways,  which  were  actively 
competing  against  the  Netherlands  South  African 
Railway.  To  stop  this,  he  authorized  the  alteration 
of  the  tariff  between  the  junction  at  Vereeniging  and 
Johannesburg,  a  short  distance  of  about  forty  miles 
(this  was  a  breach  of  his  verbal  understanding  with 
Sir  James  Sivewright),  so  that  it  became  impossible  to 
import  goods  by  this  route  in  competition  with  Delagoa 
Bay.  The  Cape  Railway  people  thereupon  adopted 
ox  and  mule  transport  between  the  junction  and 
Johannesburg,  hoping  to  force  Mr.  Kruger's  hand ; 
but  he  retaliated  by  closing  the  Drifts.  A  great  deal 
has  been  made  of  the  fact  that  on  this  question  the 
Bond  Ministry  and  Mr.  Schreiner  were  prepared  to  go 
to  war  with  the  Transvaal.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
position  did  not  give  the  slightest  cause  for  anxiety  in 
Pretoria.  Mr.  Kruger  would  bluff  to  the  end,  but  he 
was  not  prepared  for  war,  and  the  only  effect  of  the 
ultimatum,  to  which  he  promptly  acceded,  was  to  hurry 
on  his  mihtary  preparations.  The  Drifts  were  a  small 
thing;  if  Uitlander  grievances  had  been  tacked  on  to 
the  ultimatum,  it  would  have  been  another  matter. 
Still,  it  was  a  grateful  change  in  British  Government 
policy,  and  was  the  first  occasion  it  had  talked  straight 
to  the  Transvaal  Government  since  the  Warren  Ex- 
pedition. Mr.  Chamberlain  was  making  his  presence 
felt  at  the  Colonial  Office. 

The  new  spirit  that  seemed  to  be  awaking  in  England 
alarmed  Mr.  Kruger.  Before  it  became  too  late  he 
hurried  on  his  preparations  to  meet  eventualities.  Dr. 
Leyds  was  despatched  to  Europe  to  patch  up  relations 


THE  PLOT  THICKENS  187 

and  secure  alliances  if  possible,  while  armaments  were 
increased,  and  the  building  of  forts  seriously  commenced. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  military  equipment  of  the  Trans- 
vaal to-day  may  largely  be  traced  to  this  impetus.  The 
Jameson  Raid  really  only  served  to  justify  preparations 
which  were  already  begun,  as  a  necessary  condition  of 
Mr.  Kruger's  policy,  which  involved,  if  and  when  neces- 
sary, the  fighting  for  Boer  supremacy. 

Meantime  things  were  booming  in  Johannesburg, 
and  few  would  have  thought  that  the  time  was  rapidly 
drawing  near  when  the  long -threatened  revolution 
would  become  an  accomplished  fact.  It  was  known  in 
Pretoria  towards  the  beginning  of  November,  1895, 
that  some  move  was  taking  place,  but  no  importance 
was  attached  to  it  in  Government  circles.  The  mere 
fact  that  things  were  so  good  on  the  Share  Market 
effectually  silenced  suspicion.  Towards  the  end  of 
that  month  one  of  the  Loyalists  in  Pretoria  was 
approached  by  the  Hon.  J.  W.  Leonard,  and  asked 
to  assist.  Although  he  had  completed  arrangements 
which  involved  his  leaving  for  Europe,  he  promised  to 
stay  and  take  the  loss  on  condition  that  the  movement 
was  run  on  a  working  man's  basis,  practically  on  the 
lines  of  1894.  It  was  pointed  out  that  the  leadership 
of  the  capitalists  would  be  fatal,  as  the  Government 
papers  were  already  using  the  old  arguments  of  '  Capital 
versus  Labour '  with  telling  effect,  and  although  in- 
fluence might  secure  a  certain  number  of  adherents,  yet 
there  would  be  no  heart  in  the  affair  as  proposed.  The 
question  of  the  flag  was  discussed,  and  it  was  mentioned 
that  no  enthusiasm  could  be  raised  in  Loyalist  circles 
in  Pretoria  by  the  hoisting  of  the  Vierkleur  (the  Trans- 
vaal flag)  by  the  Reformers.  At  a  meeting  at  the 
Rand  Club,  called  to  finally  decide  if  there  was  any- 
thing in  the  suggestion,  the  gentleman  in  question  was 
informed   that    it  was   too    late   to   change   the   plans 


i88  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

adopted,  and  he  therefore  decHned  to  take  any  part  in 
the  movement,  which  he  felt  was  foredoomed  to  failure. 
In  this  his  views  were  absolutely  correct,  and  if  the 
Boers  had  attacked  Johannesburg  the  men  would  have 
had  no  heart  to  fight  them  ;  they  were  keenly  alive 
to  their  hardships,  but  they  had  no  confidence  in 
capitalist  leaders.  The  working  men  were  Loyalists 
to  a  man,  and  if  there  was  to  be  a  change  they  wanted 
a  change  of  flags ;  they  had  no  interest  in  fighting  for  a 
Republic,  with  perhaps  Mr.  J.  B.  Robinson  as  President. 
When  Jameson  crossed  the  border  they  merely  felt  that 
there  was  a  countryman  in  danger,  who  was  accom- 
panied by  Imperial  officers  ready  to  help  them  ;  they 
thought  then  the  flag  must  be  all  right  ultimately, 
and  without  considering  for  one  moment  the  rights  or 
wrongs  of  the  Raid,  they  would  have  fought  to  the  end. 

The  capitalists  had  seen  what  the  public  were  like 
when  aroused  in  1894,  and  they  openly  said,  '  If  the 
public  were  so  easily  aroused  then,  we  can  do  the  same 
at  any  moment  ourselves.'  In  this  they  were  grossly 
deceived.  They  had  allowed  those  feelings  to  become 
dormant,  and  they  could  not  be  awakened  by  their 
resuming  the  education  at  the  point  where  it  was 
broken  down  by  the  opposition  of  Mr.  Kruger  and 
themselves. 

Mr.  Rhodes'  plan  was  bound  to  fail  unless  he  made 
provision  for  armed  Imperial  assistance  to  fall  back  upon. 
He  preferred  the  Jameson  method,  which  was  unjustifi- 
able in  any  case,  unless  the  troops  were  moved  by 
Imperial  instruction.  Even  if  successful,  it  would  have 
caused  serious  reflection  on  our  want  of  good  faith.  If 
the  Boers  had  been  raiders,  we  had  no  business  to 
descend  to  their  level.  Besides,  the  consequences  of 
failure  had  not  been  considered.  What  they  were  we 
know  to-da}' :  the  certain  ruin  for  a  considerable  period 
of  the  whole  of  South  Africa. 


THE  PLOT  THICKENS  189 

The  gentleman  above  referred  to  made  an  attempt 
to  warn  Mr.  Rhodes  of  the  position  in  Johannes- 
burg. Armed  with  a  strong  letter  of  introduction, 
he  tried  to  warn  Mr.  Rhodes  to  do  nothing  until  he 
had  satisfied  himself  that  the  state  of  affairs  was  as 
represented.  The  small  circumstances  of  his  having  to 
catch  his  boat,  the  train  being  late,  and  Mr.  Rhodes 
having  left  his  town  office,  prevented  his  seeing  him. 
Probably  his  efforts  would  have  been  useless  anyhow, 
but  he  blames  himself  to-day  for  not  losing  his  steamer 
in  the  hope  of  saving  the  situation.  As  showing  his 
views  on  the  matter,  one  of  the  Reformers — Captain 
Donald — was  bidding  him  good-bye,  when  the  latter 
gentleman  said  :  '  I  hope  that  you  are  wrong  in  your 
opinion ;  but  I  intend  to  be  at  the  storming  of  the 
fort  at  Pretoria,  and  if  I  fall,  see  that  my  grave's  kept 
green ;'  to  which  he  replied :  '  You  will  never  even  see 
Pretoria.'  It  must  have  been  clear  to  everyone  on  the 
spot ;  in  fact,  few  of  the  Loyalist  section  were  at  all 
deceived  in  looking  upon  the  whole  plan  as  hopeless, 
on  account  of  the  want  of  care  which  had  been 
displayed  in  its  organization. 

In  the  following  chapter  we  shall  endeavour  to  show 
the  exact  position  in  which  Mr.  Rhodes,  the  Imperial 
Government,  and  Mr.  Chamberlain  stood  with  regard 
to  the  Revolution  and  the  Raid. 


CHAPTER    XIII 

THE    FALSE    STEP 

We  hope  we  have  made  the  connection  clear  between 
1894,     1895,    and    1899.       The    year    1894    saw    the 
awakening    of    the    Imperial    spirit    in    South    Africa. 
This  sentiment  had  been  slumbering  for  thirteen  long 
years,   and   now  awoke  to  the  necessity  of  sweeping 
away  the  tyranny  of  Krugerism.    It  is  true  the  Loyalists 
failed  in  attaining  the  object  in  view,  but  their  efforts 
were  not  entirely  thrown  away.    Thinking  men  in  South 
Africa  became  convinced  that  the  Empire  was  in  danger. 
Our  representative  was  losing  no  opportunity  of  point- 
ing out  to  the  Home  Government  that  something  must 
be  done,  and  that  soon.     The  Uitlanders'  Association 
of  Pretoria   spared   no   pains   to   educate   the  British 
public  and  Government.     To  avoid   being  dependent 
solely  on    Renter's  Agency,   measures  were   taken   to 
secure  the  representation  of  the  leading  news  agencies 
at    the    capital,    while    every    week    the    journalistic 
members  of  the  association  took  it  in  turns  to  describe 
the   course   of    events   and   the   machinations   of    the 
Government.      It  was  felt  this  was  the  only  way  to 
counteract  the  malicious  falsehoods  which  Dr.  Leyds 
was  spreading  through  his  subsidized  press  in  Europe. 
Much  was  done  in  this  direction  by  the  Loyalists  of 
Johannesburg,    although    the    National    Union    could 
effect  little  officially,  as  its  constitution  prevented   it 


THE  FALSE  STEP  191 

from  attempting  in  any  way  to  subvert  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  RepubHc,  and  its  existence  ceased  so  soon 
as  it  became  apparent  that  it  was  useless  to  hope  for  the 
reahzation  of  the  objects  for  which  it  had  been  formed. 

That  it  would  have  been  better  if  the  leaders  of  the 
organization  in  Pretoria  had  been  consulted  by  the 
heads  of  the  Reform  movement  goes  without  sa3'ing. 
Admitting;  that  they  could  not  see  their  way  to  support 
a  Rhodesian  or  a  capitalistic  movement,  the  secret 
would  have  been  quite  safe  in  their  hands.  But  as 
they  did  not  belong  to  the  moneyed  or  the  influential 
classes,  and  some  of  them  were  looked  upon  wrongly 
as  being  too  headstrong,  they  were  passed  by  until  it 
became  too  late  to  adopt  any  plans  which  they  might 
have  suggested,  plans  which,  in  the  opinion  of  the 
Uitlanders'  Association,  were  vital  to  the  success  of  the 
movement. 

We  do  not  propose  to  touch  on  the  Raid  at  any 
length  ;  the  various  telegrams  which  were  published 
by  the  Select  Committee  show  that  the  real  failure  of 
the  movement  was  the  neglect  to  seize  the  fort  and 
arsenal  at  Pretoria,  with  its  10,000  rifles  and  ample 
ammunition,  at  the  time  agreed  upon.  While  admit- 
ting that  there  was  no  enthusiasm  for  reform  under  the 
republican  flag,  which  was  detested  by  a  large  portion 
of  the  population,  yet  if  a  bold  attempt  had  been  made 
to  seize  the  points  of  vantage,  as  well  as  the  person  of 
the  President,  things  might  have  turned  out  differently. 
Assuming  the  attempt  had  failed  and  the  few  men 
involved  were  captured  by  the  Boers,  there  was  a  basis 
for  British,  or  even  Jamesonian,  interference.  If  suc- 
cessful, the  revolution  was  achieved.  The  very  daring 
of  the  act  would  have  drawn  men  together,  and  the 
fact  that  they  had  been  prepared  to  risk  their  lives 
would  have  shown  the  people  that  they  were  not 
blindly   following    men   whose    interests   were   mainly 


192  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

those  of  the  pocket.  Everything  had  been  prepared 
for  this  part  of  the  programme,  both  within  and  with- 
out, and  the  means  of  carrying  it  into  effect  were  within 
reach  of  the  Reformers,  when  the  unfortunate  difference 
of  opinion  regarding  the  flag  cropped  up.  It  ought  to 
have  been  ignored  for  the  moment,  and,  with  the  means 
available,  matters  precipitated,  instead  of  losing  the 
opportunity.  In  1894  the  Secret  Committee  in  Johan- 
nesburg had  also  discussed  the  question  of  the  flag, 
and  it  was  then  pointed  out  that  the  hoisting  of  the 
Union  Jack  might  embarrass  the  English  Government. 
A  Scotchman,  '  one  of  many  in  the  organization,'  said 
at  once,  '  Well,  then,  let  us  use  the  Scottish  flag,  and 
when  things  are  settled  we  can  run  up  the  old  flag  if 
the  English  Government  will  have  it.'  The  trouble  now 
was  that,  while  one  lot  of  men — those  with  little  to  lose 
of  worldly  goods — were  eager  to  get  to  business,  the 
other — those  with  means — failed  to  come  to  the  scratch, 
chiefly  because  they  were  divided. 

A  celebrated  adventurer  from  South  America,  asked 
what  were  the  elements  of  a  successful  revolution, 
replied,  '  I  have  been  in  twelve  revolutions,  nine  of 
which  succeeded  and  three  failed.  In  the  nine  which 
succeeded  we  hanged  the  President  first  !' 

In  that  remark  lay  the  whole  secret  of  success  ;  unless 
Pretoria  were  rendered  harmless,  the  danger  was  not 
worth  risking,  a  fact  well  known  to  the  waverers.  Once 
the  arms  and  the  hostages  had  been  secured,  every- 
thing was  simple. 

In  the  middle  of  December  it  was  known  in  Reform 
circles  that  affairs  were  unsettled  in  Europe,  Germany 
being  slightly  alarmed,  and  the  Venezuela  negotiation 
causing  trouble ;  the  time  to  temporize  had  passed ; 
now  was  the  psychological  moment  to  make  up  your 
mind  either  to  sit  down  quietly  under  the  burden,  or  to 
strike  and  strike  home. 


THE  FALSE  STEP  193 

To  try  to  remedy  things  by  the  mad  rush  over  the 
border,  which  constituted  a  grave  breach  of  international 
law,  was  of  course  a  most  fooHsh  act,  doubtfully  justifi- 
able by  success ;  and  the  Reformers  have  some  ground 
for  their  complaint  that  it  placed  them  in  an  entirely 
false  position.  Nothing  but  serious  blame  can  be 
accorded  to  the  officer  who  brought  with  him  the 
whole  of  his  official  correspondence  and  private  code, 
which  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Boers,  and  who  sub- 
sequently made  affidavits  certifying  to  the  correctness 
of  certain  incriminating  papers. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  Dr.  Jameson  could 
have  persuaded  himself  to  believe  that  Johannesburg 
would  assist  him.  It  was  apparent  before  he  left  that 
Johannesburg  would  do  nothing  without  a  leader,  and 
it  was  his  play  to  hurry  there  and  fill  that  gap. 

The  surrender  and  disarmament  of  Johannesburg 
followed,  and  ended  this  miserable  chapter  in  South 
African  history.  The  position  of  the  Imperialist  party 
was  hopelessly  compromised,  and  the  masterly  way  in 
which  the  crafty  old  President  handled  his  cards  pro- 
duced a  revulsion  of  feeling  in  his  favour  throughout 
the  world,  which  was  only  relieved  when  he,  as  usual, 
overacted  the  part. 

It  would  have  taken  him  j'ears  to  perfect  the  realiza- 
tion of  his  scheme  for  a  great  South  African  Republic, 
while  this  one  day  almost  succeeded  in  doing  it.  Sud- 
denly he  had  with  him  the  support  of  the  whole  of  the 
extreme  Africander  population  of  South  Africa,  who 
really  wanted  only  a  little  persuasion.  All  that  Mr. 
Rhodes  had  done  to  stem  the  tide  of  this  sentiment 
was  thrown  away,  and  Mr.  Kruger  was  placed  in  a 
position  which  enabled  him  to  prepare  for  the  moment 
when  he  hoped  '  to  stagger  humanity.' 

The  Raid  would  have  been  a  mistake  from  an  Im- 
perial point  of  view  even  if  it  had  succeeded,  and   it 

13 


194  THE  RISE  AND  F^ALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

would  have  served  to  establish  a  Republic  bitterly  anti- 
English  as  a  whole.  The  Imperial  Government  would 
have  been  bound  in  honour  to  interfere  in  such  a  way 
as  to  practically  proclaim  a  state  of  war  against  the 
Uitlanders,  and  certainly  against  the  Raiders,  and,  of 
course,  British  subjects  in  South  Africa  would  have 
looked  on  this  as  a  breach  of  faith  and  another  betrayal. 
Feelings  would  have  run  very  high,  and  have  stultified 
every  effort  at  compromise,  with  the  result  of  a  Republic 
on  American  lines — a  development  which  Mr.  Rhodes, 
so  his  friends  say,  would  certainly  not  have  welcomed. 
Failure,  although  it  effectually  alienated  Africander 
subjects,  compromised  England  in  the  eye  of  the  world, 
and  made  war  in  the  immediate  future  a  certainty,  was 
perhaps  the  best  that  could  happen. 

It  may  be  truthfully  contended  that  war  would  have 
resulted  in  any  case  from  the  policy  of  Mr.  Kruger,  but 
it  would  have  found  us  better  prepared  than  it  has  to- 
day, when  our  hands  have  been  tied  for  years  by  the 
actions  of  our  countrymen.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  British  Government  did  not  reply  in  some  way  or 
other  at  an  earlier  period  to  the  armed  menace  which 
was  being  slowly  and  surely  created  by  the  Transvaal. 
The  failure  to  do  so  was  apparently  due  to  Sir  Hercules 
Robinson,  who  must  have  lost  his  head  at  the  time 
when  he  most  required  it. 

The  news  of  this  second  Majuba  threw  the  British 
public  at  home  and  in  the  colony  into  a  ferment  of 
rage,  which  unfortunately  was  vented  on  the  Uitlanders, 
who  for  the  most  part  were  totally  unaccountable  for 
the  course  things  had  taken.  Then  suddenly  the 
Boer  -  cum  -  German  policy  found  expression  in  the 
celebrated  telegram  from  the  German  Emperor.  This 
diverted  attention  from  everybody,  even  from  Mr. 
Rhodes,  who  had  resigned  his  office  as  Premier  of  the 
Cape   Colony,    and   revealed   the   hidden    meaning   of 


THE  FALSE  STEP  195 

things  to  all.  What  the  Loyalists  had  been  trying 
to  show  the  English  people  for  years  was  laid  bare 
in  a  single  moment.  In  spite  of  this,  the  feeling 
was  so  strong  against  the  Uitlanders  that  meetings 
which  had  been  arranged  in  their  support  could  not  be 
held.  Johannesburg  was  rechristened  Judasburg,  and 
the  papers  delighted  in  heaping  accusations  on  its  popu- 
lation which  were  uncalled  for  and  painful  in  the  extreme 
to  those  who  knew  the  real  facts  of  the  case.  The  writer, 
in  appealing  to  a  highly  placed  personage  for  assist- 
ance on  their  behalf,  was  informed  by  that  gentleman 
that  he  had  no  personal  sympathy  with  the  Uitlanders 
after  their  behaviour.  When  asked  if  this  was  to  be 
taken  as  official,  he  replied,  '  No  ;  those  were  his  per- 
sonal views.'  It  is  satisfactory  to  say  that  gentleman 
has  changed  his  opinion. 

Mr.  Rhodes  was  urged  to  resign  his  Privy  Councillor- 
ship,  to  go  to  England  and  insist  on  being  tried  by  a 
court  of  justice.  '  That  is  his  only  chance,'  said  one  of 
his  friends  ;  '  if  he  does  so,  it  will  end  in  his  being  the 
most  popular  man  in  the  British  Empire,  even  if  he 
spends  six  months  in  prison.'  He  was  right,  and  that 
he  was  right  is  shown  by  the  feeling  which  was  dis- 
played when  Dr.  Jameson  was  released.  It  was  the 
finest  answer  Mr.  Rhodes  could  have  returned  to  his 
opponents.  It  would  have  placed  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  a  better  position,  and  vindicated  England's 
status  as  the  home  of  justice.  It  is  not  going  too  far 
to  say  it  might  have  even  succeeded  in  restoring  Mr. 
Rhodes  at  one  bound  to  his  previous  honourable  posi- 
tion, for,  having  paid  the  penalty  for  an  offence  which 
had  every  Englishman's  sympathy,  his  vindication  was 
certain.  Probably  he  must  have  even  contemplated 
this  step  when  he  left  the  Cape  for  England  in  1896. 

The  unsettled  condition  of  Matabeleland,  coupled 
with  Mr.  Kruger's  activity  as  a  republican  propagandist, 


196  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

may  of  course  have  furnished  reasons  for  not  depriving 
the  Empire  at  that  time  of  Mr.  Rhodes'  services.  Mr. 
Rhodes  was  probably  not  to  blame  in  the  matter ;  and 
since  then  he  has  indeed  atoned  for  his  mistake  in  being 
in  any  way  a  party  to  the  Raid  by  minimising  Mr. 
Kruger's  efforts  as  much  as  possible.  He  has  spared 
no  pains  to  show  Krugerism  to  be  what  it  is,  as  in- 
tolerant and  barbarous  a  creed  as  that  of  the  Mahdi. 
It  is  in  no  small  measure  due  to  his  efforts  that  we  are 
fighting  to-day  instead  of  a  few  years  hence  at  greater 
disadvantage.  Every  day  the  Boers  were  growing  in 
wealth  and  strength.  However  hard  the  task  may  be, 
a  conflict  with  them  a  decade  hence  would  have  been 
an  even  severer  test  of  the  strength  and  solidarity  of 
the  British  Empire  than  it  has  proved. 

There  was  only  one  opportunity  of  avoiding  the  dread 
arbitrament  of  war,  and  that  was  the  insistence  by  the 
English  Government  on  reforms  immediately  after  the 
Raid,  for  Mr.  Kruger  was  not  quite  prepared  then,  and 
his  plans  were  only  half  ripe. 

The  arrival  of  the  Raiders  in  England  and  their 
subsequent  trial  is  now  ancient  history.  Little  notice 
was  taken  at  the  time  of  the  Reformers,  but  when  it 
was  announced  that  four  of  them  had  been  sentenced 
to  death,  public  feeling  throughout  the  world  was 
effectually  aroused.  Well-informed  people  knew  that 
it  was  merely  bluff  on  the  part  of  Mr.  Kruger,  so  that 
during  all  the  time  the  opportunity  was  not  lost  sight  of 
to  press  forward  Uitlander  claims.  It  is  believed  that 
but  for  the  fact  that  75,000  troops  would  have  been 
required  in  the  event  of  war  resulting  from  our  represen- 
tations, which  frightened  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  some- 
thing might  have  been  done.  A  private  meeting  of  some 
eighty  to  one  hundred  members  of  Parliament  was  held 
shortly  afterwards  in  Committee  Room  ig  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  to  endeavour  to  enlist  their  sympathy  on 


THE  FALSE  STEP  197 

this  and  other  questions.  It  was  felt  that  some  step  ought 
to  be  taken,  but  it  was  subsequently  decided  that  no  move 
should  be  made  to  force  the  hands  of  the  Government. 

Shortly  after  the  South  African  Association  was 
formed  in  England,  which  has  done  exceedingly  good 
work  in  educating  the  British  public  up  to  a  sense  of 
their  responsibilities  in  South  Africa. 

One  of  the  worst  consequences  of  the  Raid  was  the 
treatment  of  the  British  representative  at  Pretoria,  Sir 
Jacobus  de  Wet.  Mr.  Chamberlain's  South  African 
policy  did  not  require  a  scapegoat,  and  his  action  with 
regard  to  the  British  Agent  was  cruel  and  unneces- 
sary. There  is  surely  no  disgrace  in  growing  gray 
in  the  loyal  service  of  one's  country,  and  we  will  ask 
for  the  indulgence  of  the  reader  if  we  dwell  for  a 
moment  on  the  merits  of  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet,  which 
cannot  be  doubted  by  anyone  who  was  brought  into 
official  contact  with  him. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  in  a  prior  chapter  we 
alluded  to  the  departure  of  Mr.  Ralph  Williams,  the 
British  Agent  at  Pretoria,  from  South  Africa.  At  that 
time  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet  (then  on  a  visit  to  Europe) 
was  Secretary  of  Native  Affairs  in  the  Cape  Colony. 
Great  pressure  was  brought  to  bear  on  him  in  London 
to  accept  the  position  of  Her  Majesty's  Agent  at  Pre- 
toria ;  he  finally  yielded,  although  it  involved,  from  a 
financial  point  of  view,  a  great  sacrifice  on  his  part. 

The  first  matter  of  importance  which  engaged  his 
attention  was  the  Adendorff  or  Banjailand  trek,  a 
matter  to  which  we  have  referred.  As  is  well  known, 
our  relations  were  rather  strained  with  the  Boers  at 
that  time  ;  in  fact,  the  trek  had  already  started,  and 
the  burghers  were  well  on  their  way,  when  the  British 
representative  stayed  its  course. 

In  spite  of  the  fact  that  prior  to  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet's 
tenure  of  office  the  abandonment  of  Swaziekind  by  Great 


198  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

Britain  had  been  virtually  decided  on,  he  was  much 
averse  to  such  a  course,  and  was  enabled  to  give 
valuable  information  with  reference  to  Transvaal 
methods  and  the  way  in  which  the  annexation  and 
the  concession  business  in  Swazieland  was  being  worked 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Eloff  gang  (we  refer  to  F.  C. 
Eloff,  the  President's  son-in-law)  and  others,  having 
objects  in  view  which  could  not  be  otherwise  than 
detrimental  to  English  interests.  He  was  instru- 
mental, as  has  been  pointed  out,  in  securing  our 
position  in  Zambaan's  and  Umbegesa's  land,  as  also  in 
Amatongaland.  It  was  clearly  proved  that  adventurers 
and  concessionaires,  including  at  least  one  Englishman 
of  some  standing,  were  endeavouring  to  sell  certain 
rights  and  concessions  which  would  have  jeopardized 
England's  position  on  the  sea-board,  but  for  the  prompt 
action  of  our  representative  in  reporting  the  matter. 

The  dynamite  question  was  another  subject  which 
he  handled  with  skill  and  ability.  As  far  as  we  know, 
all  the  negotiations  in  connection  with  this  important 
matter  were  left  entirely  in  his  hands.  This  confidence 
was  by  no  means  misplaced,  as  he  succeeded  in  making 
Mr.  Kruger  cancel  the  concession. 

In  the  same  manner  he  called  attention  to  the 
National  Bank  and  Mint  Concession,  which  was  just 
as  much  a  breach  of  the  Convention  ;  but  as  usual,  he 
was  not  backed  up  by  the  invertebrate  British  Govern- 
ment, and  this  interference  with  British  interests  and 
danger  to  our  supremacy  was  allowed  to  go  through. 
Of  his  action  during  the  Commandeering  of  British 
subjects  too  much  cannot  be  said,  as  we  have  shown 
step  by  step  in  the  preceding  chapters. 

His  personality  and  his  birth  drew  towards  him  the 
Progressive  Africanders,  as  well  as  the  English  resi- 
dents, who  stood  by  him  to  the  last.  Information  was 
furnished  to  him  for  transmission  to  his  Government 


THE  FALSE  STEP  199 

which  they  would  have  divulged  to  no  one  other  than 
a  man  of  their  own  blood,  for  whom  they  had  the 
greatest  respect  and  in  whom  they  placed  implicit  trust. 
Through  him  the  British  Government  was  kept  well 
informed  in  advance  of  any  important  political  move 
(such  as  Kruger's  Drifts  policy),  and  he  would  have 
been  invaluable  in  opening  their  eyes  to  the  real  posi- 
tion of  things  had  he  been  in  the  Transvaal  after  the 
failure  of  the  Bloemfontein  negotiations.  It  is  not  too 
much  to  say  that  it  would  have  been  unlikely  for  war 
to  have  broken  out,  as  it  did,  had  he  been  on  the  spot 
and  able  to  give  Her  Majesty's  Government  ample  and 
reliable  warning  of  its  imminence. 

Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet  was  no  firebrand,  and  he  often 
restrained  the  feelings  of  the  Uitlanders,  which  would 
only  have  landed  them  in  disaster  had  they  been  put 
into  effect,  exhorting  them  to  rely  on  the  justice  of 
Her  Majesty's  Government  as  the  only  proper  and 
loyal  policy. 

It  has  often  been  wondered  why  Sir  Hercules  Robinson 
failed  to  press  for  reforms  after  the  Raid,  and  Mr.  Fitz- 
Patrick  makes  a  good  deal  of  this  in  his  book  *  The 
Transvaal  from  Within,'  which  so  ably  puts  the  Re- 
formers' case.  As  will  be  remembered,  the  President 
refused  to  discuss  reforms  while  Johannesburg  was  in 
arms.  His  conditions  being  satisfied  by  the  disarmament 
of  Johannesburg  seemed  to  imply  that  the  discussion 
would  take  place.  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  being  com- 
pletely alarmed,  would  take  no  steps  in  this  direction,  in 
spite  of  the  emphatic  instructions  of  the  Colonial  Office. 
That  was  no  fault  on  the  part  of  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet.  who 
did  his  utmost  to  persuade  him  that  now  was  the  time 
to  press  for  reform  ;  and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  would 
have  been  far  better  to  have  left  the  whole  negotia- 
tions in  the  hands  of  our  representative  at  Pretoria, 
for  the  feebleness  of  the  High  Commissioner  was  so 


200  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

apparent  to  the  Government  that  he  weakened  the 
position  assumed  by  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet. 

President  Kruger  admitted,  in  an  interview  to  a 
reporter,  that  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet,  '  while  holding  his 
post,  had  not  only  been  loyal  to  his  position,  but  that 
Johannesburg  owed  a  great  deal  to  him  for  his  repeated 
representations,  and  the  political  prisoners  a  great  deal 
more  than  they  knew  had  been  done  on  their  behalf  by 
him.'  A  testimonial  from  such  a  source  may  not  prove 
very  acceptable  to-day,  but  at  that  time  Mr.  Kruger  was 
rather  a  persona  grata  than  otherwise  with  Mr,  Chamber- 
lain ;  it  was  about  the  '  How  is  Mrs.  Kruger  ?'  period. 

The  faithful  few — the  true  Loyalists  of  Pretoria — 
had  a  sorrowful  leave-taking  when  Sir  Jacobus  de  Wet 
left,  and  they  presented  him  with  a  handsome  piece  of 
silver  plate  and  an  address. 

After  his  retirement,  and  in  recognition  of  services 
which  few  other  men  could  have  rendered — services 
which  give  him  a  distinguished  and  honourable  place  in 
the  history  of  South  Africa — the  Imperial  Government 
somewhat  tardily  forwarded  a  communication  thanking 
him  for  the  important  assistance  he  had  rendered  during 
his  occupation  of  the  difficult  position  of  Her  Majesty's 
representative  at  Pretoria,  and  awarding  him  a  pension 
of  ;£"300  per  annum  ! 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE    RECKONING 

The  day  of  reckoning  had  to  come,  and,  as  we  have 
shown,  the  reckoning  was  a  pretty  heavy  one  ;  aggra- 
vated and  made  worse  than  it  should  have  been  by  the 
action  of  Mr.  Rhodes'  friends.  The  result  of  their  testi- 
mony has  done  more  to  damage  British  prestige  in  South 
Africa  than  the  Raid  itself,  and  has  given  Mr.  Kruger 
a  plausible  excuse  for  looking  on  all  negotiations  of  the 
British  Government  with  suspicion.  We  refer  to  the 
unjustifiable  innuendoes  which  were  allowed  to  creep 
into  the  testimony  of  interested  parties  with  reference 
to  Mr.  Chamberlain's  alleged  complicity  in  the  Raid. 
The  feeling  was  not  so  acute  prior  to  the  sitting  of  the 
Select  Committee,  which  it  was  hoped  would  disperse 
all  the  rumours  so  wildly  and  wilfully  circulated :  and  Mr. 
Schreiner  expressed  that  hope  in  his  evidence  (Q.  3,334) 
by  saying  :  '  I  wanted  to  say  this,  that  the  supposition 
for  the  moment,  rightly  or  wrongly  (I  say  wrongly),  that 
such  a  policy  is  tolerated  by,  or  has  the  support  of  the 
Imperial  Government,  lowers  the  prestige  and  the 
honour  and  dignity  of  England  in  South  Africa  in  a 
way  that  is  lamentable.  I  do  not  wish  to  convey  that 
there  is  anything  like  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
people  that  hold  what  I  consider  an  erroneous  opinion 
upon  that  point.  But  it  is  not  unnatural  that  those 
who  are  most  offended  in  the  North  [Transvaal]  are 


202  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

most  suspicious,  perhaps,  upon  even  such  a  point  as 
that ;  and  what  we  desire  as  to  that,  and  what  we 
hope  will  be  the  result  of  the  deliberations  of  this 
Committee  and  of  the  Imperial  Parliament,  is  the 
vindication  of  the  honour  and  dignity  of  the  Empire 
in  South  Africa.' 

It  was  obviously  all-important  that  not  the  slightest 
breath  of  suspicion  should  be  attached  to  any  of  the 
members  of  Her  Majesty's  Government.  To  see  this 
assertion  in  its  real  light,  we  must  consider  for  a 
moment  the  trial  of  Dr.  Jameson  and  his  officers.  The 
Boers  were  very  dubious  about  the  genuineness  of  this, 
and  anticipated  a  prejudiced  trial  on  theirown  methods, 
knowing  that  no  Boer  jury  would  ever  convict  their 
fellows  for  raiding,  which,  in  the  early  days,  used  to  be 
a  regular  and  recognised  occupation.  To  their  surprise, 
they  found  that  English  justice  knew  no  favours,  and 
at  once  a  much  better  feeling  was  engendered  through- 
out South  Africa.  But  this  did  not  induce  Mr.  Kruger 
to  relax  his  preparations,  which  went  on  without  cessa- 
tion, and  found  justification  in  the  eyes  of  the  Boers 
when,  towards  the  end  of  i8g6,  the  various  statements 
which  had  been  made  by  some  of  the  officers  during 
the  trial  gave  them  the  impression  that  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain, and  in  all  probability  the  English  Government, 
were  involved  in  the  Raid  itself. 

To  ascertain  the  real  facts  of  the  case  we  have  to 
remember  Mr.  Rhodes'  policy  as  applied  to  South 
Africa.  That  policy  became  a  sound  Imperial  one 
after  the  acquirement  of  Rhodesia ;  it  may  have  been 
drifting  previous  to  that  stage,  but  then  it  became 
fixed.  The  trouble  was  that  his  Imperialism  was  made 
conditional;  it  involved  the  non-interference  of  England 
in  South  African  problems — in  fact,  the  absence  there 
of  the  Imperial  factor.  This  was  sound  enough  up  to  a 
certain  point;  but  when  the  Imperial  Government  had 


THE  RECKONING  203 

at  last  awakened  to  a  sense  of  its  responsibilities,  when 
Mr.  Chamberlain  came  to  the  Colonial  Office,  the 
Rhodesian  policy  was  no  longer  called  for.  It  was 
useful  in  the  case  of  weak  and  opportunist  Govern- 
ments, which  had  been  our  experience  in  the  past,  but 
it  became  a  dangerous  policy  if  Mr.  Kruger  had  to  be 
pushed  to  extreme  concessions.  The  assumption  that 
Mr.  Rhodes  would  brook  no  Imperial  interference  may 
be  disputed  on  the  ground  that  he  did  not  object  to 
it  on  the  Drifts  question,  but  there  was  no  question 
of  fighting  in  that.  Mr.  Rhodes  knew  that  perfectly 
well,  and  by  appealing  to  the  Imperial  Government  he 
not  only  discovered  the  way  the  wind  was  blowing 
there,  but  he  also  had  an  opportunity  of  gauging  the 
feeling  of  the  Africander  party  with  regard  to  such 
action,  arguing  that  if  they  supported  the  Imperial 
Government  in  that,  the}'  might  go  still  further  with 
him. 

As  will  be  seen  by  the  reports  of  the  Select  Com- 
mittee, the  Transvaal  question  called  for  immediate 
settlement.  Mr.  Kruger's  plans  were  becoming  too 
apparent.  Was  such  a  settlement  to  be  effected  in- 
ternally by  Mr.  Rhodes,  or  was  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment to  undertake  it  ?  In  the  one  way  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain would  fulfil  his  greatest  ambitions,  in  the  other 
Mr.  Rhodes.  All  the  evidence  on  the  subject  goes  to 
show  that  the  British  Government  had  then  already 
determined  on  an  active  polic}'.  It  was  clear  that 
things  in  the  Transvaal  were  going  from  bad  to  worse, 
and,  as  we  have  said,  the  British'  Government  was 
kept  well  informed  by  the  Loyalists  with  regard  to  the 
secret  menace  which  was  being  prepared.  Of  course, 
a  firm  policy  was  all  that  could  be  desired  on  behalf 
of  the  majority  of  British  subjects  in  the  Transvaal. 
As  a  proof  of  this  we  take  an  extract  from  Mr.  Fair- 
field's letter  to  Mr.  Chamberlain  on  November  4,  1895, 


204  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

a  month  or  two  before  the  Raid.  He  says  :  *  I  do 
not  think  that  there  can  be  any  doubt  but  that  the 
Transvaal  will  give  way  on  the  immediate  question  of 
the  Drifts,  but  that  will  not  end  the  political  unrest. 
They  will  have  in  their  hands  to-night  or  to-morrow 
morning  a  letter  from  Montagu  White,  written  after 
Lord  Salisbury's  message  to  him  warning  them  that 
the  British  Government  is  in  deadly  earnest '  (on  the 
subject  of  Reform). 

It  now  turned  out,  however,  that  such  a  policy  would 
interfere  with  Mr.  Rhodes's  plans,  which  were  rapidly 
maturing,  but  which  were  as  then  a  secret  confined  to 
himself  and  a  few  friends.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  the  Colonial  Office  must  have  received  a  hint  in 
some  way  or  other  that  it  was  inadvisable  to  follow  an 
Imperial  line  in  South  Africa, but  that  everything  should 
be  left  to  Mr.  Rhodes,  who  was  interesting  himself  in 
the  matter,  and  would  take  all  responsibility.  The 
main  argument  was  probably  that  the  Cape  Dutch  and 
the  Free  State  Boers  would  not  be  controllable  in  the 
event  of  any  action  being  taken,  involving  in  conse- 
quence the  use  of  the  Imperial  forces  to  clinch  the 
matter.  On  the  other  hand,  Mr.  Rhodes,  who  only 
asked  for  a  free  hand,  and  guaranteed  Imperial  interests 
in  return,  expressed  the  belief  that  if  no  interference 
took  place  with  regard  to  his  plans,  '  he  thought  they 
would  be  carried  through  without  bloodshed.'  This 
meant  the  passive  acquiescence  of  the  Colonial  Office 
in  whatever  he  might  do. 

In  the  face  of  these  considerations,  Mr.  Chamberlain 
was  placed  in  a  very  awkward  position,  because  it 
seemed  to  resolve  itself  into  the  question  whether  his 
ambition  or  his  patriotism  would  win  the  day.  Mr. 
Rhodes  had  great  claims  on  the  British  Government ; 
he  had  saved  Rhodesia  for  the  Empire,  had  turned  the 
Cape  Dutch  for  the  moment  into  semi-loyal  subjects  ;  he 


THE  RECKONING  205 

now  asked  to  be  permitted  to  crown  his  work  with  his 
own  hands,  and  unify  South  Africa  in  his  own  time 
and  in  his  own  way. 

When  Krugerism  had  ceased  to  exist,  and  that  great 
danger  to  the  Empire  had  disappeared,  it  would  be 
a  matter  of  indifference  as  to  who  had  done  the  deed. 
Mr.  Rhodes  seemed  likely  to  be  able  to  carry  out  his 
plans,  and,  as  there  was  no  reason  to  doubt  his  loyalty, 
it  appeared  impolitic  to  hamper  him.  It  meant,  of 
course,  that  Mr.  Chamberlain  renounced  much  of  his 
share  in  the  glory  to  be  won  as  the  Founder  of  South 
African  unity. 

It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  Mr.  Chamberlain  took 
up  what  he  thought  to  be  the  patriotic  course,  though 
it  must  have  been  a  disappointment  to  his  ambition. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  and  Mr.  Rhodes  have  often  been 
bracketed  as  Empire-builders ;  but  as  such  their  in- 
terests cannot  always  be  identical,  and  their  very 
positions  tend  to  make  them  rivals.  Therefore  a  very 
considerable  self-sacrifice  was  involved  in  surrendering 
to  the  Rhodesian  arguments. 

It  reduced  the  part  to  be  played  by  the  Colonial 
Office  to  that  of  a  looker-on,  merely  giving  warnings 
as  to  the  European  or  American  barometer,  unpre- 
pared to  discountenance  so-called  revolutionary  as 
discriminated  from  Raid  methods,  and  at  the  same 
time  unable  to  do  anything  much  except  hope  for 
success. 

A  doubt  must  have  existed  at  the  Colonial  Office  as 
to  Mr.  Rhodes'  loyalty  to  the  Empire,  even  after  it  was 
decided  to  leave  matters  to  him.  The  Colonial  Office 
did  all  it  could  to  make  sure  that  Mr.  Rhodes  was  not 
working  his  plans  on  a  republican  basis,  and  went  so 
far  as  to  elicit  this  cable  from  him,  dated  November  6, 
1895 :  '  As  to  English  flag,  they  must  very  much  mis- 
understand me  at  home.     I,  of  course,  would  not  risk 


2o6  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

everything  as  I  am  doing  excepting  for  British  flag.' 
This  placed  Mr.  Rhodes  in  a  very  good  Hght ;  but  it 
proved  that  he  did  not  know  the  men  he  had  to  deal 
with  in  Johannesburg.  Those  Reformers,  with  excep- 
tion of  the  Loyalists,  declined  to  use  the  Transvaal 
flag  as  a  subterfuge,  considering  that  it  would  have 
been  impossible  to  alter  that  flag  once  they  had  suc- 
cessfully run  it  up.  In  1894  the  Loyalists  had  pro- 
posed a  compromise,  but  on  very  different  grounds ; 
and  there  was  no  pseudo-republicanism  about  that 
proposal. 

Assuming  that  Mr.  Chamberlain  gave  Mr.  Rhodes 
practically  a  free  hand  in  South  Africa  on  grounds 
which  seemed  to  him  dictated  by  patriotic  considera- 
tions, there  is  not  the  slightest  shred  of  evidence  to 
prove  that  Mr.  Chamberlain  had  any  prior  knowledge 
of  the  Raid.  His  actions  go  to  prove  that  it  came  as 
a  great  shock  to  him,  and  in  spite  of  the  remonstrances 
of  Mr.  Rhodes,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  take  the  only 
course  which  was  possible  to  a  man  who  had  been  no 
party  to  the  filibustering. 

Mr.  Chamberlain's  dignified  diplomatic  attitude  at 
the  time ;  his  adoption  of  the  only  right  course  in  re- 
pudiating Jameson  ;  his  instructions  to  Sir  Hercules 
Robinson  '  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  to  prevent  mis- 
chief; his  foresight;  and  his  firmness  on  the  subject 
of  foreign  intervention,  which  had  been  foreshadowed 
by  Miss  Shaw,  entitled  him  to  everyone's  respect  as 
a  statesman,  Mr.  Rhodes'  failure  gave  him  his  chance  ; 
Mr.  Rhodes'  methods  had  failed,  and  now  South  Africa 
recognised  that  the  struggle  was  limited  to  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain and  President  Kruger. 

We  have  striven  to  give  some  faint  idea  of  what  the 
position  was  when  the  collapse  came,  which  left  in  the 
hands  of  certain  persons  secrets  which,  while  in  no  way 
derogatory  to  the  honour  of  the  Colonial  Office,  were 


THE  RECKONING  207 

yet  sufficiently  ambiguous  to  awaken  the  suspicions  of 
the  distrustful  Africanders  in  South  Africa,  and  were 
calculated  to  create  a  very  bad  impression  as  to  our  good 
faith  on  the  Continent.  The  extent  of  the  '  secrets ' 
possessed  by  these  parties  would  seem  to  be  confined 
to  the  messages  which  passed  through  Mr.  Fairfield, 
both  verbally  and  in  writing  ;  but  whatever  were  the 
nature  of  those  communications,  they  should  have  been 
kept  hidden,  and  no  hint  even  given  that  they  existed. 
It  was  a  case  of  suppressing  information  which  it  was 
not  in  the  public  interest  to  disclose.  The  mere  fact 
that  it  is  admitted  to-day  that  much  which  took  place 
at  that  time  has  tarnished  our  reputation  condemns 
in  itself  the  disclosures  made.  If  there  was  some 
carelessness  in  the  mentioning  of  names  in  the  cables, 
the  blame  did  not  lie  with  the  men  who  had  been 
acting  in  the  best  interests  of  the  country.  The 
correct  course  to  prevent  the  slightest  slur  resting  on 
the  Government  was  for  Mr.  Rhodes  to  have  muzzled 
his  lieutenants,  and  make  a  determined  effort  to  show  at 
all  risks  that  the  Colonial  Office  had  not  the  slightest 
inkling  of  his  plans.  As  he  failed  in  the  execution  of 
his  plans,  so  he  failed  here  again  to  rise  to  the  situation. 
The  testimony  of  Mr.  Hawksley  and  others  at  the 
Select  Committee,  and  after,  has  done  irreparable 
injury  in  South  Africa.  Personal  antagonism,  private 
ambitions,  do  not  justify  the  use  of  weapons  which  not 
only  damage  the  individual,  but  strike  at  the  credit  of 
the  country.  There  is  not  a  Boer  in  the  Transvaal 
who  does  not  firmly  believe  to-day  that  Mr.  Chamber- 
lain was  over  head  and  ears  in  the  Raid,  and  nothing 
will  convince  him  that  this  is  not  so.  The  mere  fact 
that  persons  implicated,  either  from  design  or  inad- 
vertency, strove  to  prove  this  was  quite  sufficient 
evidence  for  them,  just  as  it  has  been,  one  grieves  to 
admit,  for  a  large  section  of  the  British  public. 


2o8  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

The  regrettable  consequence  has  been  that  Mr. 
Chamberlain  has  been  hampered  from  the  first  in  his 
negotiations  with  the  Iransvaal.  This  feeling  of  mis- 
trust went  so  far  as  to  engender  the  absurd  belief  that 
Sir  Alfred  Milner  is  a  tool  of  Mr.  Rhodes.  The  Raid 
gave  the  President  an  excuse  for  all  his  actions,  and 
the  Boers  looked  upon  it  as  a  deliberate  attempt  by 
the  English  Government  to  steal  their  country  by  dis- 
honourable means.  They  regarded  Sir  Alfred  Milner's 
negotiations  merely  as  veiled  attempts  to  do  the  same, 
and  declined  to  give  him  the  slightest  credit  for  striv- 
ing to  find  a  settlement  of  the  many  questions  at  issue. 
The  Kruger  clique  of  course  did  everything  they  could 
to  kindle  this  feeling,  and  thus  the  Progressives  were 
driven  into  the  enemy's  camp. 

While  touching  on  the  evidence  of  the  Select  Com- 
mittee, we  wish  to  make  one  or  two  further  observa- 
tions before  bringing  this  chapter  to  a  close ;  and  in 
doing  so  we  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  that 
none  of  our  remarks  apply  to  Miss  Flora  Shaw,  whose 
evidence  was  given  admirabl}^,  and  was  much  appre- 
ciated by  loyal  South  Africans.  That  talented  lady  has, 
like  Com  Paul,  the  great  gift  of  using  language  to 
conceal  her  thoughts — a  most  useful  talent  in  a  diplo- 
matist. An  instance  of  this  occurred  many  years  ago, 
when  Miss  Shaw  visited  South  Africa,  which  made  the 
Loyalists  of  the  Transvaal  look  upon  her  for  a  long 
time  as  pro-Boer.  Such  belief  was  caused  by  the  fact 
that  she  was  the  guest  of  Mr.  A.  H.  Nelmapius,  to  whom 
we  have  alluded  in  our  chapter  on  concessions  ;  she 
was  also  made  much  of  by  Dr.  Leyds  and  the  Kruger 
group,  who  kept  her  as  much  as  possible  aloof  from 
outside  opinion,  in  which,  judging  from  subsequent 
events,  they  were  not  successful.  The  reasons  which 
justified  the  thought  among  the  Loyalists  were, 
firstly,  that  they  suspected  those  who  surrounded  her, 


THE  RECKONING  209 

and,  secondly,  that  she  was  a  strong?  advocate  for  the 
abandonment  of  the  Swazies,  In  that  her  unflinching 
devotion  to  Mr.  Rhodes  is  apparent.  We  can  all 
admire  the  fidelity  and  honesty  of  purpose,  coupled 
with  the  resolve  to  be  worthy  of  the  trust  which  was 
reposed  in  her,  which  characterized  her  evidence  before 
the  Select  Committee. 

The  most  interesting  points  elicited  in  Mr.  Rhodes' 
evidence  were  the  proofs  of  German  activity  in  the 
Transvaal.  If  a  treaty  did  not  exist  at  that  time,  binding 
Germany  to  assist  the  Transvaal,  it  was  thought  there 
must  have  been  an  oral  understanding;  but  although 
the  most  strenuous  attempts  were  made  to  prove  this 
to  be  the  case,  no  evidence  could  be  obtained  on  the 
subject.  The  tone  of  Baron  van  Marschall's  despatch 
to  Lord  Kimberley,  dated  February  i,  1895  (see 
Appendix  D),  would  imply  that  it  was  not  the  first 
time  that  Germany  had  interfered  in  South  African 
matters.  There  seems  to  be  no  shadow  of  a  doubt 
that  such  was  the  case  in  1894,  when  we  made  such 
a  complete  surrender  to  the  Boers.  Some  light  is 
thrown  on  Sir  Graham  Bower's  action  at  that  time 
by  the  following  extracts  from  the  evidence  in  the 
inquiry  : 

'2,484.  Mr.  Secretary  Chamberlain:  Now,  did  you 
anticipate  that  these  troubles  might  lead  to  a  change 
of  Government  in  the  Transvaal?  [in  1894].  —  My 
feeling  in  the  matter  is  this,  or  was  this  at  any  rate, 
and  it  is  also  still  the  same  :  that  it  was  contrary  to 
British  interests  to  establish  an  Anglo-Saxon  republic 
up  there.  An  Anglo-Saxon  republic  would,  by  its 
example,  as  well  as  by  its  influence,  strengthen  and 
promote  republicanism  in  South  Africa,'  etc. 

'2,485.  Sir  William  Harcoukt:  I  cannot  hear 
what  you  say. — It  was  not  making  republicanism 
popular  ;  I  mean  the  existing  Hollander  Government 

14 


2IO  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

in  the  Transvaal.  An  Anglo-Saxon  democratic  Republic 
would,  by  its  example,  as  well  as  by  its  influence,  make 
republicanism  popular,  and  thus  weaken  the  British 
connection  ;  and  therefore,  although  it  seems  a  cynical 
thing  to  say,  I  felt  that  British  interests  would  be  best 
served  by  the  maintenance  of  the  existing  Govern- 
ment.' 

What  an  admission  !  There  is  no  doubt  this  foolish 
idea,  which  must  have  been  known  to  Lord  Loch,  and 
may  have  influenced  him,  has  had  grave  consequences. 
At  that  time  the  Loyalists  did  all  they  could  to  show 
the  High  Commissioner  that  they  wanted  a  change  of 
flag.  The  demonstration  at  Pretoria  on  the  arrival 
of  Sir  Henry  Loch  centred  round  the  flag,  and  if  he 
had  obtained  their  rights  for  them  without  bloodshed, 
their  efforts  would  have  been  devoted  to  completing 
that  confederation  which  was  the  goal  of  their  am- 
bition. 

A    good     deal    of    abuse    was    showered    on    Mr. 
Schreiner's  head  in  connection  with  his  evidence  on 
the    subject  of  Uitlander  grievances,   much   of  it  un- 
doubtedly well  deserved.    It  is  a  matter  for  surprise  that 
Mr.  Schreiner,  as  a  lawyer,  was  not  better  acquainted 
with  the  facts  concerning   the    interference  with    the 
independence    of    the    High    Court    (3,606)    involved 
in    the  release  from   prison  of  Mr.  A.  H.  Nelmapius 
on   an    order   of   President   Kruger ;    a    most    serious 
matter,    causing    the    resignation    of    Judge    Brand. 
Even  while  admitting  this  fact,  he  denied  that  there 
was  any  general  grievance,  forgetting  the  Doms  and 
McCorkindale    cases,    and     disputing     Chief    Justice 
Kotze's  action  in  regard  to  the  testing  right  as  applied 
to  laws  in  the  Transvaal.     It  was  common  knowledge 
that    the    President  had    on   several    occasions   inter- 
fered in  one  way  or  another  with  the  course  of  justice 
(see  Appendix  J).     All  Mr.  Schreiner  did  was  to  admit 


THE  RECKONING  211 

on  pressure  a  minimum  of  Uitlanders'  grievances,  in 
which  connection  we  quote,  in  Appendix  E,  a  letter 
and  cable  sent  at  the  time  by  the  Uitlanders'  Associa- 
tion of  Pretoria  on  the  subject.  This  was  supple- 
mented by  a  contradiction  of  his  evidence  on  the 
Educational  system,  by  Messrs.  Caldecott  and  Robin- 
son, of  the  Johannesburg  Education  Council.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  petty  persecution  to  which  the  Trans- 
vaal Government  would  go  in  this  direction  may  be 
instanced  the  case  of  a  Miss  Robbins,  who  had  a  school 
outside  the  Government  scheme.  This  lady  rented  a 
room  for  the  purpose  from  the  Netherlands  Railway, 
but  in  consequence  of  her  refusal  to  come  under  Dr. 
Mansveldt's  wing,  notice  was  given  her  to  vacate  the 
premises,  and  only  with  the  greatest  difficulty  did  she 
succeed  in  getting  another  suitable  place. 

It  is  hard  to  understand  Mr.  Schreiner's  policy  when 
we  see  him  admitting  the  knowledge  of  President 
Kruger's  ambitions  (4,080, 4,081) :  '  President  Kruger  has 
the  contrary  ideal  [to  confederation],  probabl}',  of  an 
extension  of  republican  principles.  I  should  say  so.  I 
have  not  got  it  from  himself;  but  judging  of  his  policy, 
I  should  say  he  isolates  himself  in  his  Republic,  and 
would  like  to  see  the  republican  principles  extended.' 
Questioned  under  what  flag,  he  says  :  '  Not  the  Dutch 
flag ;  he  has  his  own  flag ;  and  the  Orange  Free  State 
has  quite  a  different  flag  ;  but  probably  a  South 
African  flag  which  would  be  the  flag  of  what  he 
would  call  a  free  nation,  whatever  the  quarterings 
might  be  upon  that  flag,'  etc.  This  shows  that 
Mr.  Schreiner  must  have  been  alive  to  Mr.  Kruger's 
intentions  ;  and  yet  what  steps  have  he  or  the 
Africander  Bond  taken  to  point  out  the  dangers  to 
England  of  such  aspirations,  or  to  warn  the  Imperial 
Government  with  regard  to  the  immense  accumulation 
of  arms,  ammunition  and  artillery  (some  of  which  he 

14 — 2 


212  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

was  himself  instrumental  in  transmitting)  ?  For  this 
want  of  fidelity  to  his  trust  he  is  assuredly  to  blame. 
Surely  it  must  be  in  accordance  with  the  traditions 
and  the  necessities  of  high  colonial  office  for  the  Premier 
of  any  colony  to  keep  Her  Majesty's  Government  in- 
formed of  events  of  this  nature — events  likely  to  shift 
the  balance  of  power  in  South  Africa  and  to  consti- 
tute a  serious  menace  to  the  Empire. 

The  interests  of  the  colony  and  the  interests  of  the 
whole  Empire  should  both  be  ever  equally  present  to 
all  holding  such  high  office. 


CHAPTER  XV 

KRUGERIAN    METHODS 

It  is  doubtless  difficult  for  an  Englishman  who  has 
been  brought  up  to  value  the  privileges  he  enjoys 
— the  constitution  of  his  native  land — to  understand 
how  Mr.  Kruger  has  been  able  to  turn  his  position, 
as  the  ruler  of  a  State,  to  his  personal  advantage. 
The  simple,  pious  Boer,  as  he  is  supposed  to  be, 
should  be  free  of  the  chicaneries  of  the  wicked  and 
unscrupulous.  It  is  not  natural  that,  owing  to  this 
very  simplicity,  Mr.  Kruger  should  have  obtained  a  posi- 
tion of  almost  absolute  authority  amongst  his  ignorant 
countrymen.  When  it  suits  his  purpose,  he  can  be 
mild  and  suave,  full  of  wit  and  humorous  badinage. 
The  language  {taal)  he  uses  is  very  favourably  con- 
structed for  such  purposes ;  it  is  familiar  to  his  hearers 
in  all  its  shades  and  inflections,  and  his  admiring 
audience  fully  appreciate  his  homely  metaphors,  framed 
upon  their  everyday  surroundings.  That  is  the  tone 
which  Mr.  Kruger  adopts  when  he  wishes  to  secure 
the  concurrence  of  the  Volksraad  in  some  scheme  upon 
which  he  has  set  his  heart,  but  which  can  only  be  realized 
through  the  intervention  of  the  Legislature.  Should 
the  members  not  see  eye  to  eye  with  him,  and  dare  to 
oppose  in  open  Raad,  his  wrath  is  speedily  aroused, 
and  his  naturally  harsh  voice  becomes  a  spluttering 
roar,  which  prostrates  the  victim   of  his  displeasure. 


214  THE  RISE  AND   P^ALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

It  usually  happens  that  when  any  measure  of  import- 
ance is  to  be  carried  or  rejected  by  the  Volksraad,  the 
subject  is  discussed    in    all   its    bearings  by  members 
meeting   privately   at   the    President's   house.     It   has 
frequently   occurred   that   when    a   law,  or   a   portion 
thereof  which  did  not  meet  with  the  approval  of  the 
majority,  would  be  likely  to  be  thrown  out,  if  voted  upon 
at  the  time,  it  has  been  discussed  up  to  the  hour  of 
the  adjournment,  and  those  members  who  were  waver- 
ing between  humouring  the  President  and  doing  justice 
to  their  constituents  have  been  brought  into  a  proper 
frame  of  mind  upon  the  stoep  of  the  President's  residence. 
Sometimes,  when  the  pill  has  been  rather  too  large 
or  not  sufficiently  gilded,  the  Volksraad  has  stood  upon 
its  dignity,  and  administered  an  open  rebuke  to  the 
President ;  but  their  righteous  indignation  rarely  survived 
the  coffee  and  pipes,  and  orders  given  during  the  evening 
seance  in  the  President's  drawing-room  were  seldom 
disregarded.     Rarely  only  has  a  member  with  a  regard 
for  his  own  interests  and  some  courage,  as  well  as  a 
good  cause,  stood  up  against  Mr.  Kruger  in  the  Volks- 
raad,  treating   with   equal   contempt   oily   words   and 
bombastic    threats,    and   this   has    invariably    resulted 
in  an   appointment  having   been  found  for  him   of  a 
permanent  character  and  carrying  a  good  salary. 

Mr.  P.  G.  Mare  secured  the  Landdrostship  of 
Boksburg,  and  Mr.  G.  Du  Toit  the  Landdrostship  of 
Middelburg,  simply  because  their  criticisms  in  the 
Volksraad  of  the  measures  of  the  Government  was  dis- 
tasteful. But  these  gentlemen  do  not  furnish  the  only 
instances  in  which  a  well  -  timed  opposition  to  the 
Government  has  been  productive  of  substantial  good 
to  the  recalcitrant  legislator.  Credit  was  given  to  them 
for  the  possession  of  some  sort  of  independence  and 
honesty,  which  made  their  attacks  upon  Government 
measures  more  telling  with  the  public  than  otherwise 


KRUGERIAN  METHODS  215 

would  have  been  the  case,  while  their  subsequent  con- 
duct gives  reason  to  the  conjecture  that  their  attitude 
of  hostility  was  a  carefully  prepared  plan  for  their 
personal  aggrandisement. 

The  1893  election,  when  President  Kruger  was  really 
ousted  by  General  Joubert,  although  at  the  close  of  the 
heaviest  poll  that  had  ever  taken  place  in  the  country 
he  headed  the  list  of  votes  by  about  800,  was  a  result 
attained  largely  by  the  means  alluded  to.  That  result 
was  not  allowed  to  pass  unchallenged,  and  charges 
being  made  of  wholesale  personation  and  other  political 
crimes,  the  matter  was  remitted  for  investigation 
to  a  committee  of  the  Volksraad.  A  considerable 
number  of  Kruger  votes  were  struck  off  on  revision  ; 
but  the  Commission  declined  to  go  into  the  question 
of  illegal  practices  upon  the  ground  that  it  was  not 
desirable  to  maintain  the  agitation,  and  so  cause  division 
amongst  the  burghers.  Mr.  Kruger's  election  was 
thereupon  confirmed  by  the  Volksraad,  and  he  wiis 
re-established  in  the  Presidential  chair. 

The  Government  immediately  introduced  a  law  pro- 
hibiting the  formation  of  election  committees  amongst 
the  burghers,  thus  nullif3'ing  any  future  attempt  to 
educate  the  people  upon  public  questions  of  import- 
ance as  a  means  to  guide  them  in  their  choice  of 
a  properly  qualified  head  of  the  State.  By  this 
method  the  whole  conduct  of  the  elections  in  the 
Republic  was  thrown  into  the  hands  of  the  enormous 
army  of  Government  officials,  Landdrosts,  and  Veld- 
cornets,  who  were  almost  without  exception  the  creatures 
of  Mr.  Kruger,  owing  their  appointments  to  his  favour, 
and  naturally  enough  taking  upon  themselves  the  volun- 
tary duty  of  influencing  more  or  less  directly  the  votes 
of  the  burghers.  That  they  were  successful  to  an  extra- 
ordinary degree  was  shown  at  the  last  election,  when 
12,000  votes  were   polled  for   Mr.   Kruger,   whilst   liis 


2l6  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

opponent,  Mr.  Schalk  Burger,  registered  but  few  more 
than  3,000,  notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  his  party  and 
all  those  who  were  honestly  desirous  of  appointing  a 
more  enlightened  ruler  than  Mr.  Kruger. 

Mr.  Schalk  Burger  favourably  impressed  the  Uitlander 
population  by  his  conduct  during  the  sittings  of  the 
Industrial  Commission  appointed  by  the  Government 
to  investigate  the  truth  of  the  grievances  under  which 
the  Uitlanders  suffered.  The  report  of  the  Commission 
was  eminently  satisfactory,  as  it  was  proved  by  fact 
and  figure  that  the  complaints  of  the  alien  population 
were  well  founded  and  required  to  be  remedied.  This 
result  was  so  unexpected  by  the  Government  as  to  cause 
uneasiness,  and  the  report  was  sent  to  the  Volksraad 
committee,  to  be  reconstructed,  in  defiance  of  the  rules  of 
the  Legislature.  But,  as  usual,  President  Kruger  had  his 
way,  and  in  the  end  the  valuable  report  was  shelved.  Mr. 
Burger  had  established  a  reputation  for  level-headed- 
ness,  and  a  just  intention  towards  the  Uitlander,  which 
it  was  hoped  would  not  be  without  influence  in  bringing 
about  his  elevation  to  the  Presidential  chair  ;  but  that 
hope  was  defeated  by  the  very  complete  organization  of 
officials  in  the  pay  of  the  Government,  which  was  in- 
finitely stronger,  and  brought  into  far  closer  connection 
with  the  burghers  than  any  temporary  political  com- 
mittee could  have  been. 

In  this  manner  Mr.  Kruger  has  been  able  to  maintain 
an  almost  impregnable  position  in  the  Legislature,  from 
which  he  weeded  out  dangerous  members,  firmly  estab- 
lished by  the  corrupt  management  of  his  own  election 
campaign  upon  the  apparent  unanimity  of  the  people 
as  to  his  desirability  as  President.  He  did  not  con- 
fine himself,  however,  entirely  to  the  milder  and  less 
obtrusive  methods  mentioned,  and  where  they  failed 
he  did  not  shrink  from  practising  intimidation,  un- 
fortunately with   success  during  later  3-ears ;  and  the 


KRUGERIAN  METHODS  217 

impunity  with  which  he  has  been  allowed  to  act  in 
defiance  of  the  constitutional  law  of  the  State  in 
matters  of  importance  has  emboldened  him  even  to 
attack  the  tribunals  of  justice  in  the  Transvaal, 

It  is  desirable  to  enter  upon  that  question  in  some 
detail,  in  consequence  of  its  tremendous  import  to 
every  inhabitant  of  the  Transvaal,  whether  burgher  or 
Uitlander.  The  necessity  of  the  maintenance  of  even- 
handed  justice,  free  from  political  influences,  is  self- 
evident  to  every  rational  being,  and  yet  Mr.  Kruger, 
secure  in  his  position,  had  the  temerity  to  tamper  with  the 
foundations  of  society,  of  public  order,  and  the  security 
of  life  and  property  in  the  State  of  which  he  is  the  head. 

It  ver}-  unfortunately  happened  that  Chief  Justice 
Kotze  and  his  then  colleagues  upon  the  Bench,  by 
their  judgments  in  the  case  of  '  McCorkindale  v.  the 
State '  and  '  Doms  v.  the  State,'  had  recognised  as  law 
the  resolutions  of  the  Volksraad,  by  which  the  cases 
were  summarily  disposed  of,  the  defendants  barring  the 
avenue  to  a  legal  decision  upon  the  validity  of  their 
claims.  The  late  judge,  Mr.  Samuel  Jorissen — a  son  of 
the  present  Judge  Jorissen — pronounced  a  dissentient 
judgment,  but  the  majority  of  the  Court  carried  the 
day,  and  both  McCorkindale  and  Doms  were  deprived 
of  some  very  valuable  property  without  chance  of 
appeal.  In  the  Doms  case  summonses  were  issued, 
and  the  cause  ripe  for  trial,  when  the  Volksraad,  with 
but  little  discussion,  passed  a  resolution  prohibiting 
the  Court  from  proceeding  to  investigate  a  claim  for 
the  declaration  of  rights.  There  can  be  little  doubt 
that  the  Chief  Justice,  holding  that  the  Volksraad  was 
what  it  claimed  to  be,  '  the  highest  power  in  the  land,' 
honestly  recognised  as  good  in  law  the  authority 
claimed  for  a  Volksraad  resolution,  framed  on  the  spur 
of  the  moment,  and  intended  to  meet  a  temporary 
emergency.     At  a  later  period  the  question  came  up 


2i8  1  HE  RISE  AND   FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

again  for  argument  in  an  appeal  from  the  decision  of  the 
Circuit  Court  judge  at  Johannesburg,  in  the  matter  of 
'  The  State  v.  Hess,'  and  after  a  laborious  investigation 
of  authorities  Chief  Justice  Kotze  pronounced  an 
elaborate  judgment,  admitting  that  in  the  cases  of 
McCorkindale  and  Doms  the  decisions  given  by  him- 
self and  Judge  Ewald  Esselen  were  wrong,  and  out  of 
accord  with  constitutional  principles.  It  is  greatly  to 
be  regretted  that  the  inconsistency  of  the  earlier  judg- 
ments with  the  later  one  placed  an  instrument  in  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Kruger  to  subordinate  the  temple  of  justice 
to  his  will  for  the  furtherance  of  his  own  designs. 

Some  time  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1895  Presi- 
dent Kruger  began  the  exercise  of  his  system  of  intimida- 
tion, and  he  interviewed  the  Chief  Justice  upon  the 
subject  of  Volksraad  resolutions  (see  Appendix  H  for 
a  narrative  of  the  proceedings  at  that  interview).  It 
will  be  seen  that  at  that  time  Mr.  Kruger  threatened 
to  suspend  the  Chief  Justice  and  his  colleagues  from 
their  position  on  the  Bench  if  the  validity  of  Volksraad 
resolutions  were  questioned  on  the  ground  of  their 
being  unconstitutional.  Later  a  case  came  before  the 
High  Court  of  the  Transvaal,  '  Brown  v.  the  State,' 
in  which  heavy  claims  were  made  for  damages  conse- 
quent upon  the  action  of  the  Government  in  with- 
drawing a  proclamation  with  regard  to  a  public 
gold-field.  After  a  lengthy  trial  the  Court  pronounced 
a  judgment  adverse  to  the  contention  of  the  Govern- 
ment, and  reaffirming  the  right  of  the  Court  to  decide 
upon  questions  of  the  validity  of  resolutions  passed  by 
the  Volksraad  as  law  of  the  Republic.  In  this  judgment 
also  the  Chief  Justice  most  courageously  maintained 
and  justified  his  recantation  of  his  former  error,  notwith- 
standing that  he  had  the  threat  impending  over  his 
head  of  summary  dismissal  from  office  in  the  event  of 
his  proving  obdurate.     To  depose  Mr.  Kotze  at  once 


KRUGERIAX   METHODS  219 

was  too  dangerous  a  step  to  take,  and  acting  on  the 
astute  advice  of  Dr.  Leyds,  then  State  Secretary,  a  law 
was  introduced  into  the  Volksraad,  and  carried  through 
all  its  stages  in  three  da3'S.  This  law  is  the  infamous 
production  known  as  Law  No.  i  of  1897,  and  was 
designed  to  place  the  Judicial  Bench  under  the  thumb 
of  President  Kruger,  aided  by  a  corrupt  Legislature. 

It  was  not  long  after  the  passage  of  this  law  that 
the  President  began  to  put  its  provisions  into  operation 
by  demanding  from  the  judges  a  categorical  statement 
of  their  acceptance  of  the  new  oath,  which  they  would 
be  compelled  to  adopt  as  a  condition  of  their  remain- 
ing on  the  Bench.  The  judges  unanimously  agreed  in 
a  reply  virtually  declining  to  give  any  assurance  to  the 
Government  on  the  subject.  The  present  Chief  Justice 
Gregorowski  declared  '  that  so  long  as  that  law  re- 
mained on  the  statute-book  no  honourable  man  could 
sit  on  the  Bench.'  But  this  same  gentleman  did  not 
find  his  honour  a  barrier  to  retaining  his  judgeship, 
and  one  by  one  the  other  judges  forfeited  their  pledge 
to  stand  by  the  Chief  Justice  in  his  fight  with  the 
Government  on  constitutional  grounds.  Mr.  Justice 
Ameshoff,  a  Hollander,  distinguished  himself  honour- 
ably by  resigning  his  position  as  puisne  judge  of  the 
High  Court,  thereby  vindicating  his  integrity,  and, 
although  perhaps  the  poorest  of  the  Bench  in  a  financial 
sense,  sacrificed  a  comfortable  salary  without  even  the 
prospect  of  appreciation  by  his  confreres  or  the  public. 
His  act  of  self-abnegation  is  more  worthy  of  regard,  as 
it  naturally  tended  to  sever  him  from  the  companion- 
ship of  many  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  who,  whatever 
they  may  think  of  the  motives  and  the  actions  of  the 
Government,  possess  the  valuable  gift  of  being  able  to 
stick  with  grim  tenacity  to  their  places  and  emoluments. 

The  Uitlanders  were  stunned  by  the  assault  made 
upon  the  independence  of  the  High  Court,  and  every 


220  THE   RISK  AND   FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

legal  practitioner.  Bar  and  side-Bar,  enthusiastically 
supported  Chief  Justice  Kotze  after  his  dismissal  from 
office  by  order  of  the  President. 

About  £"6,000  was  subscribed  by  the  public  in 
Johannesburg  as  a  testimonial  to  that  gentleman  for 
his  maintenance  of  the  independence  of  the  Court  over 
which  he  had  presided  for  nearly  a  score  of  years,  but 
popular  opinion  had  no  value  in  the  eyes  of  the  Pre- 
torian  autocrat. 

Before  the  final  step  was  taken  in  the  dismissal  of 
the  Chief  Justice,  Sir  Henry  de  Villiers,  the  Chief 
Justice  of  the  Cape  Colony,  made  his  appearance  on 
the  scene.  It  was  thought  at  first  by  his  Transvaal 
brethren  that  he  came  to  lend  his  powerful  aid  to 
get  rid  of  the  scandal,  but  it  soon  became  evident 
that  his  sympathies  were  not  with  the  men  who  were 
risking  their  positions  as  champions  of  truth  and 
justice,  but  rather  on  the  side  of  those  who  were  per- 
petrating a  grievous  wrong,  not  only  on  the  judges,  but 
on  the  people  at  large.  After  a  conference  with  the 
judges,  he  proposed,  as  a  method  of  getting  over  the 
difficulty,  that  the}^  should  address  a  letter  to  the  Presi- 
dent which  contained  the  following  clause :  '  Their 
[i.e.,  the  judges']  answer  is  that  Law  No.  i,  1897,  what- 
ever opinion  they  may  entertain  as  to  its  principle, 
now  forms  part  of  the  law  of  the  land,  and  that,  conse- 
quently, so  long  as  they  remain  judges  of  the  land  they 
must  abide  by  present  and  future  laws  and  Volksraad 
resolutions  {beshnten),  and  not  exercise  the  power  of 
testing  whether  such  laws  and  hesluiten  are  in  accord- 
ance with  the  Grond-Wet '  (written  constitution  of  the 
Republic).  This  draft  was  rejected  by  the  whole 
Bench,  it  being  clear  that  to  accept  it  was  to  abandon 
the  whole  case,  and  recognise  the  power  of  the  Volks- 
raad to  deny  justice  to  litigants,  whether  burghers  or 
Uitlanders,   and  thus  infringe  upon  the  sacred  rights 


KRU(;ERIAN   methods  221 

and  liberties  of  a  free  people.  Eventually  the  follow- 
ing reply  was  decided  upon  as  a  via  media,  by  which 
time  and  opportunity  would  be  allowed  for  the  final 
settlement  of  a  great  constitutional  question  : 

'  His  Honour  the  State  President. 

'  Hic.H  Court  of  thk 

'  South  African  Repuhlic, 
'  Pretoria, 

'■March  19,  1897. 

'  Your  Honour, 

'The  judges  have  the  honour,  in  reply  to  the 
communication  addressed  to  them  on  your  behalf,  and 
in  which  a  certain  question  is  put  to  them,  to  answer 
as  follows : 

'  They  deeply  regret  that  the  Honourable  the  Volks- 
raad  has  authorized  Your  Honour  to  put  a  certain 
question  to  them,  and  were  it  not  for  the  existence  of 
exceptional  circumstances  they  would  not  feel  at  liberty 
to  give  any  answer.  The  exceptional  circumstances 
which  justify  them  to  depart  from  a  well-recognised 
principle  are :  (i)  That  the  Government  and  Volksraad 
have  been  placed  somewhat  in  a  difficult  position  by  a 
recently  pronounced  judgment,  however  honestly  and 
conscientiously  given ;  (2)  that  the  point  at  issue 
affects  an  important  constitutional  cjuestion  which 
seldom  comes  up  for  decision ;  (3)  that  under  the 
present  circumstances  of  the  country  a  confiict  between 
the  legislative  and  judicial  powers  should,  if  possible, 
be  avoided. 

'  For  these  reasons  the  judges  feel  at  liberty  to  give 
the  following  answer :  Considering  that  confiicting 
decisions  have  been  given  by  the  High  Court  with 
regard  to  the  exercise  of  the  testing  right,  and  con- 
sidering that  some  of  the  members  of  the  Court  are  of 
opinion  that  it  does  not  possess  this  right,  and  especially 


222  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

after  the  clear  opinion  of  the  Honourable  the  First 
Volksraad  on  the  point,  the  judges  will  not  test  exist- 
ing and  future  laws  and  resolutions  of  the  Volksraad 
by  reference  to  the  Grond-Wet. 

*  The  judges  declare  this  on  the  understanding  that 
Your  Honour  will,  as  speedily  as  possible,  submit  a 
draft  to  the  Honourable  the  Volksraad,  whereby  the 
constitution  or  Grond-Wet  (guaranteeing  among  others 
the  independence  of  the  High  Court)  will  be  placed 
upon  a  sure  basis,  so  that  no  alterations  can  be  made 
therein  than  by  means  of  special  legislation  alone,  after 
the  example  of  the  provisions  on  the  subject  contained 
in  the  Constitution  of  the  Orange  Free  State.  In  the 
drawing  up  of  such  a  draft  the  judges  are  prepared  to 
give  the  Government  and  the  Volksraad  every  assist- 
ance. 

'The  judges  have  the  honour  to  be, 

'  Your  obedient  servants, 

'J.    G.    KOTZE. 

H.  A.  Ameshoff. 
e.  j.  p.  jorissen. 
George  T.  Morice. 
R.  Gregorowski.' 

This  was  accepted  as  satisfactory  by  the  President, 
as  it  contained  the  promise  that  pending  the  intro- 
duction of  a  definite  clause  in  the  new  Grond-Wet, 
by  which  the  Courts  of  the  Republic  should  be  main- 
tained in  their  independence,  the  judges  would  refrain 
from  raising  the  constitutional  question.  There  is  much 
reason  to  believe  that  the  judges  regretted  having  made 
the  compromise,  but  did  so  hoping  that  the  Govern- 
ment would  as  soon  as  possible  bring  the  question  before 
the  Volksraad  on  the  lines  suggested.  In  that  letter 
they  fulfilled  their  part  of  the  bargain.  It  soon  became 
apparent  that  the  President  intended  to  procrastinate 


KRUGERIAN  METHODS  223 

as  much  as  possible,  and  Chief  Justice  Kotze,  considering 
it  his  duty  to  remind  him  of  the  compact  entered  into, 
wrote  a  letter  expressing  disappointment  after  the  close 
of  the  ordinary  session  of  the  Volksraad  of  1897,  ^.nd 
asking  for  the  reasons  which  induced  the  Government 
to  depart  from  the  understanding  agreed  to  by  both 
sides.  That  letter  was  followed  by  others,  which  failed 
to  elicit  replies  from  the  Government  or  the  chairman 
of  the  Commission  appointed  to  revise  the  Grond-Wet, 
and  culminated  in  a  last  letter  of  the  Chief  Justice,  dated 
February  5,  1898,  '  stating  that  as  the  understanding 
between  the  judges  and  the  Government  had  not  been 
carried  out,  he  considered  himself  relieved  from  the 
obligation  to  refrain  from  the  use  of  the  "  testing 
right."  '  On  February  16,  1898,  the  President  availed 
himself  of  the  provision  of  the  infamous  law  he  had 
forced  through  the  Volksraad  at  the  highest  speed  pos- 
sible, and  dismissed  Mr.  Kotze  from  his  office  as  Chief 
Justice  of  the  South  African  Republic.  The  question- 
able influence  of  Sir  H.  de  Villiers  in  getting  a  hurried 
settlement  was  further  shown  b}-  the  publication  of 
some  notes  which  he  made  six  weeks  after  the  events 
in  which  he  took  part,  which  enabled  the  Government 
to  contend  that  it  was  not  bound  to  bring  the  subject 
before  the  Volksraad  before  the  ordinary  session  of 
1898.  It  is  greatly  to  be  regretted  that  he  should 
have  interfered  either  on  one  side  or  the  other.  It 
is  commonly  known  that  Sir  H.  de  Villiers  received 
no  invitation  from  either  side  to  intervene,  but  there 
is  internal  evidence  that  if  not  inspired  by  Mr.  Hof- 
meyr,  he  certainly  visited  Pretoria  with  that  gentle- 
man's knowledge.  It  also  appears  from  Sir  Henry 
de  Villiers'  statement  in  the  Legislative  Council  that 
he  forgot  to  ask  leave  of  absence  from  the  colon}',  as 
he  is  bound  to  do  before  going  beyond  its  borders. 
There  are  so  many  discrepancies  between  the  known 


224  THE  RISE  AND   FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

facts  and  statements  made  with  regard  to  this  matter, 
that  it  is  very  difficult  to  reconcile  the  one  \Yith  the 
other.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  Sir  H.  de  Villiers  was  an 
uninvited  mediator,  that  the  sum  of  his  services  was 
the  strengthening  of  Mr.  Kruger  in  his  determination 
to  make  the  Law  Courts  of  the  Republic  subservient  to 
the  Government  and  Legislature,  and  that  the  imme- 
diate result  was  to  secure  the  dismissal  of  Chief  Justice 
Kotze  from  his  position.  He  has  apparently  made 
no  effort  to  remedy  the  mischief  which  he  wrought  by 
his  ill-timed  intervention  in  a  matter  with  which  he  had 
no  personal  concern,  but  which  was  one  that  a  consti- 
tutional judge  of  a  constitutionally  governed  British 
colony  might  reasonably  have  been  expected  to  con- 
sider with  full  sympathy.  For  after  all  the  matter 
embodied  the  struggle  of  justice-loving  people  against 
an  autocrat  whose  every  endeavour  had  been  to  con- 
centrate the  most  despotic  power  in  his  own  hands. 
As  a  politician  of  the  Africander  Bond  stamp,  Sir  H.  de 
Villiers  may  be  deemed  to  have  done  a  smart  thing, 
and  by  judiciously  flattering  the  burghers  have  paved 
the  way  for  developments  which  would  loom  largely  the 
moment  Mr.  Kruger  vacated  his  position  as  President 
of  the  South  African  Republic.  There  had  been  talk 
of  Sir  Henry  de  Villiers  becoming  the  President  of  the 
Transvaal  on  the  near  approach  of  the  termination  of 
President  Kruger's  third  tenure  of  office,  a  consumma- 
tion most  unlikely  now,  when  the  end  to  Republics  in 
South  Africa  seems  near  at  hand. 

In  the  Appendix  will  be  found  a  leading  article  from 
the  Transvaal  Advertiser  of  March  15,  1897,  which 
Chief  Justice  Kotze  in  his  pamphlet,  '  An  Appeal  to 
the  Inhabitants  of  the  South  African  Republic,'  de- 
scribes as  being  '  clear  and  irrefutable,'  and  which  he 
'  commends  to  the  earnest  attention  of  all  right- 
thinking  men'  (see  Appendix  I).     As  may  be  expected 


KRUGERIAN  METHODS  225 

the  appeal  met  with  no  response  from  the  burghers, 
and  the  Transvaal  has  been  deprived  of  the  ser- 
vices of  a  learned  judge,  whose  decisions  have  for  the 
most  part  given  satisfaction  to  the  public,  and  who 
has  built  up  a  reputation  for  the  High  Court  of  the 
Transvaal  of  which  he  and  the  country  might  well  be 
proud. 

Perhaps  the  most  nefarious  of  Krugerian  methods 
was  the  tolerance  with  which  bribery  and  corruption  of 
public  officials  and  legislators  was  viewed.  It  is  of 
course  difficult  to  name  specific  instances,  but  it  is  a 
fact  that  officials  and  Volksraad  members  suddenly 
developed  tastes  which  could  not  be  gratified  on  their 
salaries  or  even  the  sanctioned  perquisites  of  their 
offices.  From  the  facts  which  were  patent,  a  system 
of  secret  '  presents  '  to  officials  and  members  of  the 
Volksraad  had  rapidly  developed  so  as  to  avoid  the 
appearance  of  direct  bribery.  The  wives  and  female 
relations  were  made  the  recipients  of  gifts  which  it  would 
hardly  have  been  safe  to  tender  direct  to  their  official 
or  legislatorial  relatives.  An  overheard  conversation 
between  a  Volksraad  member  and  a  person  desirous  of 
getting  some  concession  passed  through  the  Volksraad 
was  to  the  effect  that  the  would-be  concessionaire 
was  willing  to  pay  ;£"2,ooo  to  secure  his  object,  but  the 
honourable  member  stated  that  £"5,000  would  be  nearer 
the  mark.  The  other  responded  that  when  he  had  paid 
that  amount,  together  with  the  accustomed  douceurs  to 
officials,  there  would  be  nothing  left  for  himself,  and 
he  thereupon  made  up  his  mind  to  abandon  the  project. 
The  member  alluded  to  has  usually  been  considered 
*  straight '  by  the  public,  and  would  be  the  last  person 
to  be  suspected  of  underhand  dealings,  but  even  he  has 
become  richer  since  he  was  elected  to  represent  an 
important  constituency. 

Before  leaving  this  unsavoury  subject  we  must  allude 

15 


226  THE  RISE  AND   FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

to  one  more  instance  of  unscrupulous  high-handedness 
on  the  part  of  the  '  President.'  Towards  the  middle  of 
last  year,  and  just  after  the  termination  of  the  Bloem- 
fontein  Conference,  a  bold  attempt  was  made  to  in- 
culpate certain  persons  alleged  to  be  officers  holding 
Her  Majesty's  commission  in  the  army  as  conspirators 
against  the  State.  Some  half  -  dozen  persons  were 
arrested  during  one  night  and  taken  to  Pretoria,  where 
they  were  incarcerated  in  the  common  gaol,  upon  a 
charge  of  high  treason.  For  some  time  these  persons 
were  kept  in  prison,  and  strenuous  efforts  were  made 
by  officials  and  one  or  two  of  the  persons  arrested 
to  induce  the  principals  to  make  a  confession  of  guilt 
or  guilty  knowledge  of  a  plotting  to  overthrow  the 
Government  of  the  Republic.  With  great  difficulty 
the  principals  managed  to  communicate  with  Mr. 
Conyngham  Greene,  Her  Majesty's  Agent  at  Pretoria, 
and  he  took  the  necessary  steps  to  bring  the  matter  to 
an  issue.  The  State  Attorney,  Mr.  Smuts,  approached 
Mr.  Greene,  and  offered  to  withdraw  from  the  prosecu- 
tion upon  the  ground  that  he  felt  reluctant  to  proceed 
against  men  holding  commissions  in  the  British  army. 
Mr.  Greene,  however,  knew  what  this  cunning  sugges- 
tion meant,  and  after  consulting  the  Colonial  Secretary, 
Mr.  Chamberlain,  informed  the  State  Attorney  that  the 
British  Government  insisted  upon  the  matter  being 
sifted  to  the  bottom,  and  that  an  advocate  was  to  be 
appointed  to  defend  the  accused.  For  this  purpose 
Mr.  Greene  secured  the  services  of  Messrs.  Tancred  and 
Lunnon  as  attorneys  for  the  defence,  and  they  ap- 
pointed Mr.  Advocate  Duxbury  as  counsel.  The 
Government  was  in  consequence  forced  to  proceed 
with  the  investigation,  and  preliminary  examinations 
extending  over  several  days  took  place.  It  then 
appeared  that  some  of  the  secret  agents  of  the 
Government  had  been   imprisoned  intentionally,  with 


KRUGERIAN   METHODS  227 

the  object  of  enabling  them  to  gain  incriminating 
evidence,  and  of  becoming  State  witnesses  at  the  trial. 
Mr.  Duxbury  subjected  these  gentry  to  such  a  severe 
cross-examination  as  to  fully  expose  the  intention  of 
the  plot,  which  was  to  identify  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment, through  the  agency  of  British  military  officers, 
with  a  revolutionary  propaganda  in  the  Transvaal,  and 
thereby  justify  the  hostile  attitude  which  the  Transvaal 
intended  to  adopt.  Through  the  able  efforts  of  the 
counsel  engaged  for  the  defence  the  charge  broke  down 
completely,  and  eventually,  the  Government  deciding 
not  to  proceed  with  the  case,  the  accused  were  released 
from  custody.  At  this  time  the  authorities  of  the 
Republic  shrank  from  no  means  to  further  their  end, 
and  the  case  in  question  seems  to  us  one  very  nearly 
approaching  to  the  crime  of  subornation  of  perjury. 
The  secret  agents,  having  their  instructions  from  the 
head  of  the  department,  were  ordered  to  make  the 
necessary  affidavits  against  these  British  subjects  so  as 
to  set  the  criminal  law  in  motion  ;  and  these  same 
wretches  were  set  on  the  watch  to  entrap  persons  who 
allowed  themselves  to  audibly  condemn  the  actions  of 
the  Government. 

The  suggestion  made  by  the  State  Attorney,  that 
he  would  abandon  proceedings  if  desired  by  the  British 
Government,  is  essentially  Krugerian.  If  Mr.  Greene 
or  Mr.  Chamberlain  had  fallen  into  the  trap,  the 
Transvaal  Government  would  have  claimed  that  the 
charge  was  so  absolutely  true  that  the  British  Govern- 
ment was  afraid  of  the  circumstances  being  dragged 
into  the  light  of  day,  and  it  would  have  been  used 
as  a  reason  for  the  earlier  declaration  of  war.  As 
it  is,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  mass  of  the 
people  believe  that  it  was  only  by  the  vigilance  of  the 
Government  that  a  serious  conspiracy'  against  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  Republic  was  brought  to  light,  and  the 

15—2 


228  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

fact  of  the  State  Attorney  declining  to  prosecute  was 
solely  in  deference  to  the  wish  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, and  therefore  a  magnanimous  forbearance  on  the 
part  of  the  Transvaal.  The  report  on  the  proceedings 
at  the  preliminary  examination  has  been  published  in 
a  recent  Blue  Book,  and  it  shows  clearly  the  quality  of 
the  means  used  by  the  Government  in  order  to  gam 
the  desired  end. 

The  circumstances  relative  to  the  illicit  purchases 
of  gold  under  the  authority  of  the  Government  have 
often  been  dwelt  on,  but  the  charge  of  purchasing  gold 
amalgam  brought  against  a  certain  Count  de  Sarigny, 
and  the  State  Attorney's  interference,  is  perhaps  less 
generally  known.  The  accused  was  discharged  before 
any  evidence  could  be  adduced  simply  because  it  would 
have  involved  the  Government  in  the  scandalous  affair. 
Sufficient,  however,  leaked  out  to  show^  that  a  system 
of  permits  was  instituted  by  which  certain  persons  were 
held  free  of  damage  in  case  of  being  detected  in  pur- 
chasing gold.  The  ostensible  reason  for  the  institution 
of  special  permits  was  to  ascertain  how  and  by  whom 
the  thefts  of  gold  were  made  from  the  batteries  of  the 
mining  companies.  That  was  a  sufficient  reason  for 
the  adoption  of  extraordinary  means  in  order  to  ensure 
the  destruction  of  a  system  of  pilfering  which  had 
grown  up  on  the  Rand  Gold-field.  But  it  is  a  remark- 
able fact  that  not  a  single  amalgam  thief  has  been  dis- 
covered through  this  agency,  whilst  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  the  gold  bought  under  special  permit  has 
not  been  less  than  ;£'75o,ooo  in  value.  It  is  difficult 
to  trace  gold  obtained  by  theft  or  by  the  authorized 
robbery  countenanced  by  the  Government,  but  it  is 
pretty  certain  that  a  considerable  amount  of  the  stolen 
gold  found  its  way  to  agents  stationed  at  Delagoa  Bay, 
where  the  price  of  amalgamated  and  cyanide  gold  is 
openly  quoted. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

PREPARATIONS    FOR    WAR 

It  has  been  a  favourite  argument,  with  those  who  per- 
sonally know  nothing  about  Transvaal  affairs,  that  Presi- 
dent Kruger  did  not  make  preparation  for  the  struggle 
in  which  he  is  now  engaged  until  after  the  Jameson 
Raid.  That  is  a  very  serious  error,  for  it  may  with 
truth  be  asserted  that  from  the  time  when  the  gold- 
fields  at  Barberton  and,  later  on,  the  Witwatersrand 
were  discovered  there  have  been  steady  preparations 
for  a  conflict  with  Great  Britain.  It  is  quite  true  that 
until  Jameson  showed  the  Transvaal  that  it  was  pos- 
sible for  an  invading  force  to  penetrate  into  the  heart 
of  the  country,  and  even  to  threaten  Pretoria  and 
Johannesburg,  the  construction  of  forts  for  the  defence 
of  those  important  centres  was  not  commenced.  It 
is  also  true  that  the  enormous  importations  of  warlike 
munitions  were  carried  on  after  the  Raid  without  dis- 
guise, except,  perhaps,  as  to  the  number  and  nature 
of  the  projectiles  and  warlike  weapons.  But  it  would 
not  be  difficult  to  show  that  from  an  early  period 
after  the  retrocession — in  fact,  as  soon  as  the  revenue 
afforded  it — steps  were  taken  to  place  the  Republic  in 
a  position  of  defiance  or  defence.  There  were  the 
Powder  Factory  and  Dynamite  Concessions,  through 
which  the  Government  would  be  independent,  it  was 
expected,  of  explosives  of  foreign  origin,  being  of  im- 


230  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

portance  also  for  the  development  of  the  gold  industry, 
which  was  the  only  means  by  which  a  large  surplus 
revenue  could  be  secured.  It  may  be  said  that  the 
armament  of  the  Transvaal  with  the  view  to  a  foreign 
{i.e.,  British)  war  commenced  towards  the  end  of  the 
eighties,  and  has  been  continued  ever  since. 

At  the  time  when  Lucas  Meyer  and  his  compatriots 
made  an  incursion  into  Zululand,  which  resulted  in 
the  establishment  of  a  Boer  Republic  in  territory  con- 
quered at  the  cost  of  many  valuable  lives  and  heavy 
expense  by  Great  Britain,  wagonloads  of  ammunition 
were  sent  from  Pretoria  for  his  use.  The  editor  of  the 
Transvaal  Advertiser  was  threatened  with  prosecution 
on  account  of  his  having  published  this  fact ;  but  as, 
fortunately,  his  information  was  too  precise  to  be  con- 
tradicted, he  was  not  only  able  to  defy  the  Govern- 
ment, but  even  to  add  evidence  which  showed  the 
complicity  of  the  authorities  in  the  attempt  to  establish 
the  Republics  of  Stellaland  and  Land  Goshen  in  the 
heart  of  Bechuanaland. 

The  sending  of  ammunition  to  Lucas  Meyer  in 
Zululand  could,  under  no  circumstances,  be  regarded 
as  the  act  of  a  friendly  nation,  because  it  was  well 
known  that  by  the  capture  of  Cetewayo  and  the  dis- 
persal of  the  Zulu  army  the  pre-emptory  claim  to  the 
land  vested  in  Great  Britain.  The  Little  Englander 
was  then  supreme  in  the  councils  of  the  Empire,  and 
the  consequence  was  that  Zululand  was  left  open  to 
whoever  chose  to  seize  it.  The  Boers  were,  of  course, 
not  slow  to  prolit  by  this,  and,  on  the  strength  of  a 
concession  from  Dinizulu,  the  successor  of  Cetewayo, 
they  possessed  themselves  of  the  most  fertile  portion 
of  the  native  territory.  The  territory  had  at  first  been 
offered  to  Natal,  which  colony  declined  the  offer  with 
nothing  short  of  monumental  shortsightedness.  Where- 
upon   the  Transvaal    accepted  this  valuable  addition 


PREPARATIOxNS  FOR  WAR  231 

to  the  area  of  the  Republic  with  scarcely  concealed 
avidity  and  with  carefully  disguised  contempt  for  the 
stupidity  of  our  Government.  The  reasons  for  declin- 
ing the  country  were  the  few  thousands  a  year  required 
for  the  administration  of  a  territory  as  large  as  Great 
Britain,  with  a  dense  native  population,  only  too  ready 
to  yield  obedience  to  the  conqueror,  and  to  submit  to 
the  taxation  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  British 
flag.  Small  wonder  that  the  dream  of  the  conquest 
of  the  whole  of  South  Africa  was  indulged  in  by  the 
Transvaal  statesmen !  If  the  British  Government  did 
not  hold  Zululand  when  it  was  conquered,  and  declined 
to  keep  it  when  it  was  to  be  had  for  the  asking,  was  it 
not  likely  that  a  similar  course  would  be  followed  with 
regard  to  other  parts  of  South  Africa,  especially  if  the 
Republic  grew  to  be  so  powerful  as  it  was  the  hope  of 
Mr.  Kruger  to  make  it  ? 

The  first  step  taken  towards  that  end  was  the  fatuous 
indifference  shown  by  the  British  Ministers  at  the  close 
of  the  Zulu  War,  and  from  then  dates  the  systematic 
organization  of  the  forces  of  the  Transvaal. 

At  the  retrocession  of  the  country  the  Boers  were 
armed  with  a  very  odd  assortment  of  weapons,  from 
the  old  -  fashioned  flint  -  lock  to  the  more  modern 
Express  rifle  used  for  shooting  big  game.  As  a  first 
step  it  was  resolved  to  introduce,  as  far  and  as  quickly 
as  possible,  uniformity  in  the  weapons  of  the  burghers. 
The  first  small  arm  was  the  Martini-Henry  rifle,  and 
as  means  allowed  those  guns  were  imported  and  issued 
to  the  burghers,  some  paying  the  actual  cost,  while 
others  received  them  gratuitously  upon  condition  of 
keeping  them  in  good  order,  and  at  the  instant  service 
of  the  Government  when  commandeered. 

It  is  probable  that  about  200,000  military  rifles 
have  been  introduced  into  the  Transvaal  and  the  Free 
State,  most  of  them  since  the  Jameson  Raid,  which 


232  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

afforded  a  reasonable  excuse  for  extensive  armament, 
of  which  the  Government  was  not  slow  to  avail  itself. 
The  war  expenditure,  as  shown  by  the  yearly  returns 
prior  to  1895,  was  comparatively  moderate,  but  there 
were  other  items  in  the  returns  which  were  described 
as  'divers  payments'  and  'unforeseen  expenditure,' 
which  assumed  gigantic  proportions  at  times,  and  for 
which  there  was  no  outward  and  visible  sign  of  their 
being  mainly  for  war  purposes.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  a  fair  proportion  of  the  money  expended 
under  these  heads  has  gone  towards  the  cost  of  arming 
the  country,  the  idea  being  that  with  so  great  a  store 
of  war  munitions  in  the  Transvaal  magazines  Great 
Britain  would  hesitate  about  going  to  war. 

Prior  to  1885  the  Republic  had  nothing  to  spare  out 
of  its  revenue  for  these  purposes,  though  the  arming  of 
the  Transvaal  against  Great  Britain  began  about  that 
time.  With  millions  of  pounds  sterling  to  spend  in 
later  years,  and  with  the  idea  of  republican  supremacy 
in  South  Africa  growing  at  an  equal  rate  with  the 
means  of  apparently  carrying  it  into  effect,  it  is  quite 
natural  that  the  President  should  pretend  that  the  un- 
easiness of  his  people  was  a  sufficient  reason  for  the 
enormous  armament  which  took  place  since  the  Jame- 
son fiasco. 

Everything  goes  to  prove  that  the  Raid  was  a 
welcome  incident,  which  was  skilfully  used  by  the 
President  as  a  cover  for  his  ulterior  design  of  wresting 
South  Africa  from  the  rule  of  Great  Britain,  and 
placing  the  Transvaal  in  the  premier  position  in  a 
new  republican  federation. 

Those  who  look  upon  the  Boer  as  a  simple-minded 
and  God-fearing  peasant  scarcely  do  him  justice. 
He,  until  lately,  knew  that,  being  weak,  he  had  no 
chance  in  a  death  struggle  with  the  mighty  power 
7,000   miles  away,  and   he  foresaw  years  ago  that  he 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  WAR  233 

must  carefully  prepare  for  the  fateful  conflict  in  which 
he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  embark.  What  he  had 
to  do  was  done  in  secret,  and  it  was  certain  that  the 
mass  of  the  people  guessed  only  very  faintly  the  end 
to  which  their  leaders  were  conducting  them  blindly. 
Nevertheless,  the  tendency  of  Krugerian  scheming  was 
apparent  enough  to  those  who  understood  his  manner 
of  working  and  could  see  a  little  below  the  surface. 

The  more  recent  native  wars  against  Malaboch,  the 
Woodbush  chiefs,  one  of  whom,  Magoeba,  was  be- 
headed, and  M'Pefu,  the  successor  to  old  Magato,  whom 
the  Boers  never  had  the  pluck  to  tackle,  were  intended 
to  accustom  the  younger  burghers  to  arms  in  the  battle- 
field. For  though  the  older  men  had  had  some  experi- 
ence in  the  operations  against  Mapoch  and  Massouw, 
the  youth  of  the  State  had  but  little  opportunity 
of  learning  the  art  of  war.  If  the  truth  must  be 
told,  the  rising  generation  did  not  show  up  brilliantly 
in  those  campaigns.  As  usual,  the  real  work  of  the 
war  was  mainly  done  b}'  the  Uitlanders,  who  either 
volunteered  or  went  up  in  obedience  to  the  com- 
mandeering of  the  Veldcornets  of  their  district,  and 
the  Staats  Artillerie.  That  is  why  it  was  important 
to  get  the  youths  from  eighteen  to  twenty  years  of 
age  accustomed  to  the  whistle  of  a  rifle  bullet  or  the 
roar  of  a  shell. 

These  wars  had  practically  no  other  justification, 
and  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  the  Kaffirs  were 
shamefully  treated  by  the  men  set  over  them  by  the 
Government.  Native  Commissionerships  were  in  great 
demand  by  the  supporters  of  Mr.  Kruger,  as  they 
afforded  exceptional  opportunities  for  adepts  in  the 
science  of  unscrupulous!}-  acquiring  riches.  Native 
wars  were  promoted  on  the  flimsiest  pretences  when 
the  rural  Boers  required  employment,  and  numerous 
commandos  were  set  on  foot  for  the  sole  purpose   of 


234  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

capturing  children  made  orphans  by  the  shooting  down 
of  their  parents.  This  practice  has  been  so  common 
throughout  the  history  of  the  Transvaal  under  Boer 
regime  that  very  little  notice  was  taken  of  it  either 
by  the  public  or  the  Government ;  many  expeditions 
for  this  purpose  in  remoter  districts  were  not  even 
reported  at  headquarters.  A  pretended  theft  of  cattle, 
or  some  excuse  of  the  kind,  was  always  sufficient 
foundation  for  a  foray,  and  the  slightest  resistance 
offered  by  the  unfortunate  Kaffirs  to  protect  their  pro- 
perty was  held  a  good  reason  for  the  strongest  and 
most  vindictive  measures  on  the  part  of  a  commando. 

Of  late  years  greater  attention  had  to  be  given  to 
the  arranging  of  detail,  as  the  newspapers  somehow 
generally  managed  to  get  on  the  scent  of  the  most 
atrocious  of  these  proceedings.  Abel  Erasmus,  who 
was  denounced  by  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  in  the  strongest 
terms,  was  a  dexterous  hand  at  the  game  ;  but  he  was 
so  useful  a  servant  of  the  Government  that  promotion 
awaited  him  instead  of  punishment.  A  good  deal  of 
misery  would  have  been  saved  the  wretched  Kaffirs 
under  his  jurisdiction  had  Sir  Garnet  Wolseley  been 
able  to  carry  out  his  threat  to  hang  him  if  he  got  him 
in  his  power.  The  Kaffir  wars  afford  everywhere 
examples  of  the  most  callous  brutality  winked  at  by 
the  Boer  Government,  by  whom  they  were  undertaken 
simply  as  an  exercise  for  the  purpose  of  getting  the 
fighting  force  of  the  Transvaal  accustomed  to  life  on 
the  battle-field,  and  ready  for  the  time  when  the  more 
serious  task  of  bearding  Great  Britain  would  have  to 
be  ventured  upon.  This  means  of  acquiring  the  neces- 
sary qualities  seemed  almost  dictated  by  the  absence 
of  sport. 

The  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  game  in  times  past 
had  deprived  the  youths  of  the  Republic  of  the  oppor- 
tunity of  becoming  marksmen  in  the  hunting-field,  and 


PREPARATIOiNS  FOR  WAR  235 

it  was  necessary  to  find  some  other  means  of  making 
them  skilled  shots  besides  tarjjjet-shooting  for  prizes, 
which  was  encouraged  by  Government. 

In  1892  some  300  Germans  entered  the  service  of 
the  country,  and  they  were  followed  by  others  who  had 
had  a  certain  amount  of  military  training  in  their  own 
country,  until  some  1,200  were  enrolled  as  mercenaries. 
This  is  in  itself  a  proof  that  the  Government  had,  years 
before  the  Raid,  other  plans  in  view  than  the  fighting 
of  natives. 

The  Free  State  began  to  arm  openly  at  about 
the  same  time  as  the  Transvaal,  and  for  the  same 
ostensible  reason.  It  is  not  to  be  forgotten,  how- 
ever, that  neither  the  British  Government  nor  the 
Uitlanders  in  the  Transvaal  had  any  reason  to  com- 
plain of  the  attitude  of  the  adjoining  Republic  until 
the  election  of  President  Steyn.  His  predecessor, 
Mr.  Reitz,  after  recovering  his  health,  migrated  to 
Pretoria,  and  was  hailed  with  joy  in  the  innermost 
circle  of  the  oligarchy.  In  his  position  as  State  Secre- 
tary he  is  only  inferior  to  the  President,  and  being  a 
man  of  superior  education,  he  may  be  said  to  be  in 
reality  the  Government.  Now,  as  it  has  been  proved 
by  Mr.  Theophilus  Schreiner  that  the  object  of  the 
Africander  Bond  in  the  Free  State  (of  which  Mr.  Reitz 
was  formerly  Chief  Justice)  was  to  get  rid  of  the  power 
of  Great  Britain  in  South  Africa,  it  will  be  seen  that  he 
had  a  congenial  and  powerful  ally  in  the  President  of 
the  Transvaal,  who  was  permeated  with  the  same  desire. 

We  have  already  dealt  with  the  closer  alliance  of  the 
Transvaal  with  the  Free  State,  which  was  at  one  time 
hampered  by  the  condition  that  '  before  taking  up  arms 
in  a  Transvaal  quarrel  with  a  foreign  [meaning,  of 
course.  Great  Britain]  Power  the  cause  of  their  sister 
Republic  should  be  found  just  and  reasonable.'  This 
being    done    away    with,  in    spite    of   the    protests    of 


236  THE  RISE  AND   FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

Messrs.  Fraser  and  Wessels,  and  other  more  enlightened 
members,  owing  to  the  action  of  the  majority  in 
favouring  Africander  Bond  principles,  the  Volksraad 
decided  upon  a  practically  unconditional  alliance,  with 
the  assurance  that  the  Free  State  was  under  obligations 
to  share  with  the  Transvaal  whatever  good  or  ill  might 
betide.  That  accomplished,  Kruger's  exertions  of  the  pre- 
vious seventeen  years  in  sowing  disloyalty  amongst  the 
Free  State  burghers  was  at  last  rewarded  with  success. 
Long  before  any  vital  question  had  arisen  between  the 
British  and  Transvaal  Governments  the  emissaries  of 
the  Republic  had  directed  public  opinion  in  the  Free 
State  upon  the  question  of  political  alliance,  with  a 
view  to  being  prepared  for  taking  a  part  in  the  pro- 
gramme of  driving  the  English  out  of  South  Africa. 
The  protracted  negotiations  with  the  Free  State  with 
the  definite  object  of  obtaining  'closer  union'  between 
the  two  Republics  commenced  shortly  after  the  Conven- 
tion of  London  was  completed  by  ratification. 

As  regards  the  Cape  Colony,  there  is  ample  evidence 
that  for  many  years  past  Transvaal  agents  have  been 
at  work  among  the  farmers  inhabiting  the  north- 
western districts.  Some  of  these  agents  have  held 
high  positions  in  Pretoria  officialdom,  such  as  the  late 
Henning  Pretorius  and  General  Smit.  Quite  shortly 
anterior  to  the  war  large  numbers  of  persons  were 
sent  into  the  colony  and  Natal  to  feel  the  pulse  of 
the  Dutch  farming  population  there.  No  fewer  than 
thirty  young  men  from  the  public  offices  who  were 
known  to  be  good  cyclists,  and  could  speak  English 
and  Dutch  equally  well,  were  sent  from  Pretoria  to 
gather  statistics  and  report.  This  was  cleverly  con- 
ceived, for  who  among  the  stay-at-home  farmers  could 
refrain  from  opening  his  heart  to  a  cyclist  bound  on  a 
pleasure  trip,  and  whose  manners  and  liberality  were 
so  thoroughly  those  of  a  gentleman  ?     There  can  be 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  WAR  237 

little  doubt  that  through  these  agencies  many  among 
the  less  enlightened  of  the  farming  class  were  seduced 
in  both  colonies — a  process  aided  by  the  exhortations 
of  the  majority  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  clergy  in  the 
country  districts,  whose  influence  for  good  or  evil  is 
immense.  The  propaganda  in  the  Cape  Colony  is 
more  recent  than  that  set  up  in  the  Free  State,  but 
it  proved  to  have  been  so  far  successful  that  several 
thousand  rebels  were  induced  to  take  up  arms  when 
the  war  broke  out.  Most  of  these  are  members  of  the 
Afnicander  Bond,  and  it  will  in  due  time  be  found 
necessary  to  break  up  that  organization,  whose  purpose 
and  ambition  it  is  to  encourage  anti- English  ten- 
dencies, and  to  incite  British  subjects  to  rebellion. 

The  foregoing  are  the  main  features  of  Transvaal 
policy  for  many  years.  There  has  been  no  sudden 
ebullition  of  feeling  against  some  act  of  oppression 
which  has  led  the  Republics  to  regard  the  existence  of 
British  authority  as  a  common  and  threatening  danger. 
The  sentiment  has  been  slowly  and  persistently  worked 
up  for  years,  and  has  culminated — as  it  was  intended  to 
culminate — in  the  declaration  of  war  last  autumn. 

The  Boers  were  encouraged  and  helped  in  this  by 
the  negligence  of  the  Cape  Ministry  in  keeping  an  eye 
on  the  enormous  amount  of  armaments  going  into  the 
Transvaal  and  the  Free  State.  There  can  be  no  excuse 
for  this,  because  arms  and  warlike  munitions  alike  had 
to  pass  under  the  very  nose  of  the  colonial  authorities 
through  Cape  Colony  to  Bloemfontein  and  Pretoria. 
The  present  Cape  Government  has  thereby  forfeited 
every  claim  to  be  regarded  as  loyal  to  the  British 
Crown,  for  surely  even  Ministers  should  be  judged  by 
actions  rather  than  by  words.  It  is  a  small  but  in- 
significant thing  that  O.H.M.S.  was  changed  to  O.P.S. 
on  official  documents,  and  it  shows  the  bent  of  the 
Cape    Ministerial    mind.     Why    '  On    Her    Majesty's 


238  THE  RISE  AND  FALL    OF  KRUGERLSM 

Service "  should  be  considered  objectionable,  and  *  On 
Public  Service '  preferable,  is  a  riddle  which  can  best 
be  solved  by  those  who  are  adepts  in  the  solution  of 
political  conundrums. 

It  is  fortunate  that  Great  Britain  has,  in  the  person 
of  Sir  Alfred  Milner,  a  Governor  and   High  Commis- 
sioner who  is  thoroughly  well  acquainted  not  only  with 
the  tactics  of  a  band  of  discredited  politicians,  but  also 
with   those  who,   although    in   the  background,  were, 
even  at  the  outbreak  of  war,  pulling  the  wires  in  Cape 
Colony,   with   the   object   of  frustrating  the  efforts  of 
Great  Britain  to   establish  equal  rights  for  all  white 
men   throughout    South    Africa.      The    failure    of  the 
Bloemfontein  Conference  between   Sir  A.  Milner  and 
President  Kruger  caused  in  well-informed  circles  the 
belief  that    war   with   the    Transvaal  would    ensue,  a 
feeling  which  was  shared  by  most  classes  of  the  inhabi- 
tantsin  that  State.     A  captain  in  the  Staats  Artillerie 
expressed  the  prevailing  opinion  as  to  the  proximate 
causes    of    hostilities  when    he    said,    '  We   gave   the 
President   a  hundred  pounds  to  buy  the  horse  with, 
instead  of  which  he  tried  to  get  it  for  twenty  pounds ; 
now  we  shall  have  to  fight,'  referring  to  the  fact  that 
the  Volksraad  had  given  the  President  a  free  hand  as 
to  the  means  of  completing  a  settlement  wath  the  High 
Commissioner  at  the  Conference,  but  that  the  former 
had  thrown  the  chance  away,  and  lost  the  opportunity 
of  arriving  at  a  compromise  which  would  have  satisfied 
Great  Britain  and  at  the  same  time  strengthened  the 
Republic.     The  great  fear  of  the  Loyalists,  who  knew 
with  whom  they  had  to  deal,  was  that  the  President 
would  accept  the  very  easy  terms  which  were  offered, 
or  a  modification   of  them,  and  that   the  Conference 
would  have  been  the  means  of  playing  into  his  hands, 
and   strengthening   him   in    his    dream   of  a   '  United 
Republican  South  Africa.' 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  WAR  239 

The  generous  advances  made  were  certainly  a  bold 
experiment  on  the  part  of  the  British  Government ; 
it  depended  for  its  success  on  the  gratitude  of  those 
British  subjects  who  would  be  enfranchised,  and  on 
their  showing  their  appreciation  of  the  privileges 
obtained  for  them  by  changing  a  policy  of  hostility 
into  one  of  friendship,  followed,  perhaps,  by  federation 
under  the  British  flag. 

What  convinced  the  President  that  he  could  afford 
to  stand  out  as  he  did  in  the  face  of  Sir  Alfred 
Milner's  efforts  to  bring  about  a  peaceful  solution  was 
the  '  closer  union  '  and  offensive  and  defensive  alliance 
with  the  Free  State,  which  assured  him  that  that 
Republic  would  be  with  him  if  it  were  wanted.  In 
fact,  the  feeling  in  the  Free  State  generally  was  more 
bitter  and  anti-English  at  this  time  than  in  the 
Transvaal  itself.  He  also  reckoned  upon  his  rebel 
friends  in  the  Cape  Colony.  Whether  the  Transvaal 
spent  large  sums  of  money  on  the  Bond  elections  or  not, 
the  fact  remains  that  the  President  knew  that  he  had 
the  Africander  Bond  behind  him,  ready  to  assist  him 
in  every  way  in  hampering  the  High  Commissioner. 
The  statement  was  authoritatively  made  by  men  in 
high  official  positions,  to  reassure  people  in  Pretoria, 
that  '  there  would  be  no  war,  because  a  Bond  Ministry 
was  in  power.'  It  will  be  remembered  that  this  cr}- 
was  raised  by  the  Bond  throughout  the  elections — that 
unless  they  were  returned  war  with  the  Transvaal  was 
inevitable,  and  this  plainly  pointed  to  a  certain  collusion 
between  them  and  the  authorities  in  Pretoria,  who 
wanted  to  fight  at  their  own  time  and  in  their  own 
way.  It  is  also  certain  that  emissaries  were  sent  from 
the  Transvaal  to  assist  at  the  elections,  and  in  all 
probability  there  were  anonymous  contributions  to  the 
election  funds,  which  the  Bond  could  pretend  were  the 
gift   of  individual  members,  whilst  it  was  otherwise. 


240  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF   KRUGERISM 

We  know  of  one  instance  which  came  to  our  personal 
knowledge  of  a  certain  agent  being  sent  by  the  Transvaal 
Government  to  agitate  on  behalf  of  the  Bond  party  in 
the  Cape  Colony  at  the  time  of  the  general  election, 
for  which  he  received  ^^50  per  month  and  expenses. 
He  and  his  like  were  often  successful  ;  but  fear  of  the 
consequences,  and  the  fact  that  the  leaders  of  the  party 
ran  too  great  a  risk,  prevented  the  rebellion  poHcy  being 
carried  out  very  openly,  and  its  failure  has  been  a  matter 
of  great  disappointment  on  the  other  side  of  the  Vaal 
River. 

The  Bond  never  loses  an  opportunity  of  influencing 
leading  people  and  journalists  when  they  visit  the  Cape 
Colony.  To  its  apparently  guileless  courtesy,  its  diplo- 
macy and  its  tact  may  be  attributed  the  wrong  im- 
pressions which  well-meaning  men  may  have  gathered, 
when  only  actual  residence  in  the  Transvaal  would 
have  revealed  the  real  condition  of  things.  We  re- 
member years  ago  on  the  occasion  of  the  departure 
of  a  well-known  lady  journalist  for  Europe,  seeing 
the  well-groomed  figure  of  one  of  the  leaders  of  the 
party  offering  a  bouquet  of  flowers  to  the  lady  in 
question.  This  was  characteristic  of  what  had 
gone  before.  She  had  been  feted  and  made  much  of 
upon  her  arrival  in  South  Africa,  and  was  launched  up- 
country  with  the  best  of  Bond  introductions,  to  imbibe 
ideas  which  were  a  repetition  of  those  she  had  heard 
in  Cape  Town.  The  flowers  and  the  cordial  adieu  were 
the  finishing  touch,  and  the  good  man  of  the  '  Bond  ' 
had  made  sure  that  she  who  would  write  and  influence 
had  seen  and  known  only  what  it  was  intended  for  her 
to  see  and  know. 

That  all  these  schemes  should  come  to  naught  was 
very  disappointing  to  Mr.  Kruger  and  his  friends. 
They  had  laid  their  plans  so  well  that  failure  seemed 
impossible.      They  expected  to    be   in    a    position  to 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  WAR  241 

dictate  terms.  This  was  recognised  by  Sir  Alfred 
Milner,  and  he  quickly  took  steps  to  prevent  their 
gaining  time  for  the  fruition  of  their  plans.  As  soon 
as  this  became  apparent,  the  preparations  for  hostilities 
were  carried  on  apace.  In  the  towns  the  feeling  was 
strongly  against  war  ;  in  the  country  districts  war  was 
popular,  as  the  farmers  had  not  the  slightest  doubt 
they  would  be  able  to  carry  out  their  threat  of '  driving 
the  English  into  the  sea.'  The  first  step  was  the 
expulsion  from  the  country  of  men,  women  and  children 
who  were  of  British  origin. 

Skilled  artillerymen  were  finding  their  way  into  the 
country  towards  the  end  of  August  last.  The  Boers 
themselves  did  not  put  much  faith  in  their  artillery, 
but  they  were  reassured  by  the  officers  who  told  them 
that  they  would  yet  learn  to  respect  its  usefulness  and 
efficiency — a  prophecy  which  to  our  cost  has  been 
more  than  fulfilled.  In  fact,  every  credit  must  be 
given  the  Staats  Artillerie  for  the  way  in  which  they 
have  handled  their  guns. 

General  Joubert  was  always  ready  and  willing,  at 
any  time,  to  inspect  and  test  new  guns  or  military 
necessaries,  and  no  expense  was  spared  to  make  the 
Transvaal  burgher  army  a  first-class  fighting-machine. 
Within  the  last  three  years  the  Martini  was  superseded 
to  some  extent  by  the  Guedes  rifle,  which  did  not 
satisfy  the  critical  Boers,  so  a  Commission  reported  on 
all  the  latest  and  most  improved  small  arms,  and  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  Mannlicher  and  the  Mauser 
were  the  most  efficient  weapons.  Ultimately  the 
Mauser  was  adopted.  This  rifle  has  been  described  so 
fully  that  there  is  no  need  to  refer  to  it  on  our  part ;  its 
supposed  advantage  over  the  Lee-Metford  consists  in 
the  fact  that  its  cartridges  are  all  embodied  in  a  clip, 
which  can  be  slipped  into  the  magazine  at  one  move- 
ment, whereas  with  the    Lee-Metford  the   cartridges 

16 


242  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

have  to  be  put  in  singly,  which  may  be  a  disadvantage 
on  the  battle-field.  The  Mauser  pistol  is  also  un- 
doubtedly the  best  in  the  world  to-day. 

From  time  to  time  meetings  of  the  Veldcornets  and 
•Commandants  were  held  to  arrange  the  questions  of 
defence  or  attack.  One  of  these  gentlemen  assured 
the  writer  that  all  the  means  of  diplomacy  would  be 
exhausted  to  prevent  war  taking  place  until  the  rainy 
season  set  in,  when  they  would  have  plenty  of  grass 
for  their  horses  and  the  roads  and  rivers  would  be  im- 
passable to  the  enemy.  Then  they  would  fight.  To 
this  someone  replied  jokingly  that  the  British  were 
waiting  for  water  and  the  Boers  for  grass  ! 

Surprise  has  been  expressed  at  the  inaccurate  state- 
ments made  by  colonials  as  to  the  fighting  strength  of 
the  Boers.  They  had  not  allowed  for  the  enormous 
increase  of  population.  From  an  absolutely  reliable 
source  the  writer  ascertained  in  September  last  that 
they  could  put  in  the  field  between  fifty  and  sixty 
thousand  men,  made  up  as  follows : 

Transvaal  burghers             ....  22,000 

Resident  foreigners,  etc.     ....  io,coo 

Free  Staters            .....  16,000 

Colonists  who  would  cross  the  border  and  join     -  6,000 


Total     54,000 

These  figures  would  be  considerably  augmented 
when  the  Boer  forces  succeeded  in  entering  either  of 
the  colonies. 

There  is  good  reason  for  believing  that  the  President 
never  thought  that  the  British  Government  was  pre- 
pared to  take  warlike  measures  ;  but  towards  the  end, 
as  he  said  himself,  the  *  riem  was  round  his  neck,'  and 
he  must  either  fight  or  sacrifice  his  idea  of  a  United 
South  African  Republic.  The  reiteration  of  the  refusal 
to  recognise  British  suzerainty,  which  was  no  doubt  a 
point  of  great  importance,  was  brought  about  by  the 


PREPARATIONS  FOR  WAR  243 

assurances  with  which  Mr.  A.  D,  W.  Wolmarans  brought 
to  the  Executive  from  the  Free  State  Government. 

Yet  there  was  against  him  a  large  number  of  in- 
fluential burghers,  mostly  naturalized  British  subjects, 
who  realized  the  consequences  of  such  a  war,  and 
these  succeeded,  with  the  help  of  the  State  Attorney, 
Mr.  Smuts,  in  getting  the  Executive  to  make  the  much- 
discussed  offer  of  a  five  years'  conditional  franchise. 
The  hitch  in  the  matter  was,  it  will  be  remembered, 
the  impossible  conditions  with  which  the  proposal  was 
hampered.  It  will  be  remembered  that  the  offer  was 
put  forward  by  the  Government  without  the  know- 
ledge of  the  Raad,  and  it  is  more  than  doubtful 
whether,  in  the  then  state  of  mind  of  that  body,  they 
would  have  given  it  the  necessary  confirmation,  even 
had  the  English  Government  accepted  it  unhesitatingly. 
Many  were  extremely  annoyed  with  the  Government 
for  having  dared  to  make  such  a  proposal  without 
their  knowledge ;  the  reason  being  that  the  country 
had  drunk  too  deeply  of  the  policy  of  the  President, 
who  had  sown  the  seeds  of  race  hatred  so  industriously 
that  his  people  had  got  out  of  his  hand.  Contingencies 
had  arisen  which  he  had  never  foreseen,  and  in  pro- 
claiming war  he  was  forced  to  take  a  step  which  was 
in  advance  of  his  plans,  and  the  result  of  which  he 
probably  felt  must  be  doubtful. 

As  soon  as  war  seemed  likely,  no  time  was  lost  in 
perfecting  the  military  arrangements.  Before  Great 
Britain  had  thought  of  mobilizing  a  soldier,  the  Boer 
emissaries  were  again  scouring  the  colonies  of  Natal 
and  the  Cape,  sounding  the  farmers  as  to  what  part 
they  were  prepared  to  take  in  the  coming  conflict. 
At  Bronkhurstspruit  Station,  in  September  last,  the 
writer  heard  two  Dutchmen  in  conversation  on  the 
subject  of  the  war.  The  one  was  of  opinion  that  the 
English  would  '  climb  down ';  the  other,  who  gave   his 

16 — 2 


244  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

name  as  one  Potgieter,  from  Natal,  said  :  '  In  any  case, 
we  are  all  ready  with  horse  and  rifle  to  join  you  when 
required.'  A  loyal  Africander  lad}'  met  at  this  time  in 
the  train,  between  Johannesburg  and  Pretoria,  a  certain 
Mr.  Marais,  a  high  official  of  Heidelberg  and  formerly 
a  Cape  Colonist.  He  told  her  that  he  had  been  sent 
by  the  Transvaal  Government  to  the  colony  to  agitate, 
that  he  had  been  to  almost  all  the  towns  and  districts 
of  the  Western  Province  for  the  purpose  of  gauging 
colonial  feeling,  and  he  assured  this  lady  that  '  they 
would  all  join  except  Kimberley,  which  had  said  it 
would  do  what  the  High  Commissioner  ordered.'  His 
conviction  was  that  as  soon  as  the  Federal  forces 
invaded  the  colon}',  district  after  district  would  join  as 
the  Republicans  passed  through.  This  was  on  the  last 
Wednesday  in  August. 

While  people  at  home  were  wondering  what  the  next 
move  would  be,  the  Boers  were  ready  to  answer  the 
question.  Towards  the  middle  of  September  all  pre- 
parations were  completed,  the  Government  had  laid  in 
large  quantities  of  supplies  (mainly  of  flour,  Boer  meal, 
and  tinned  foods),  which  they  anticipated  would  tide 
them  over  twelve  to  eighteen  months,  and  by  that  time, 
if  they  had  not  beaten  the  British,  they  relied  on  foreign 
intervention.  They  had  also  received  large  sums  of 
money  from  Europe,  and  some  additional  supplies  of 
arms  and  ammunition.  Ammunition  was  distributed  in 
large  quantities  throughout  the  country,  each  burgher 
receiving  a  sealed  packet  in  addition  to  his  ordinary 
supply.  The  last  batch  of  the  Mauser  rifles  was  dis- 
tributed, and  the  mobilization  scheme  finally  arranged,, 
by  which,  on  a  given  word  being  telegraphed  to  the 
different  centres,  the  first  Republican  army  corps  would 
be  mobilized  within  twenty-four  hours.  This  actually 
took  place. 

The  plan  of  campaign  has  now  been  exposed,  but 


TREPARATIONS  FOR  WAR  245 

the  invasion  of  the  colony  seems  to  have  been  con- 
tingent on  the  occupation  of  Mafeking  by  the  Boer 
forces.  The  failure  to  effect  this,  coupled  with  the 
proclamations  of  the  High  Commissioner  and  the  fear 
of  consequences  to  which  we  have  alluded,  prevented 
a  general  rising  in  the  disaffected  districts  of  the  Cape 
Colony.  Too  much  importance  altogether  has  been 
attached  to  what  is  called  the  restraining  influence  of 
Mr.  Schreiner.  No  influence  could  restrain  men  who 
have  the  courage  of  their  convictions.  Fear  has  been 
the  great  deterrent  in  districts  which  the  Federal  forces 
(as  they  call  themselves)  have  not  invaded.  Where 
this  has  been  the  case  the  rank  and  file  were  in 
open  rebellion  ;  and  members  of  the  Government  even 
have  acted  in  a  manner  calculated  to  arouse  suspicion 
concerning  their  motives.  Messrs.  Van  den  Heever, 
M.L.C.,  Van  Wyk,  and  De  Wet,  M.L.A.,  will,  we 
hope,  be  called  upon  to  explain  the  manner  in  which 
they  influenced  their  constituents  during  the  invasion 
of  Cape  Colony. 

The  British  Government  could  hardly  fail  to  be  aware 
of  the  fact  that  the  Transvaal  was  in  earnest  this  time. 
A  visit  to  the  country  districts  towards  the  end  of  August, 
about  the  time  when  the  Boer  Executive  themselves 
sounded  the  country  through  their  private  agencies, 
would  have  revealed  the  fact  that  the  people  were  not 
only  perfectly  willing  to  go  to  war,  but  that  they  abso- 
lutely wished  for  it.  As  one  Boer  put  it  to  the  writer  : 
*  We  look  on  fighting  the  English  as  a  picnic.  In  some 
of  the  Kaffir  wars  we  had  a  little  trouble,  but  in  the 
Vryheids  Ooriog  (the  Boer  War  of  iSSi)  we  simply 
potted  the  Rooineks  as  they  streamed  across  the 
veld  in  their  red  jackets,  without  the  slightest  danger 
to  ourselves.'  They  had  the  utmost  contempt  for 
Tommy  Atkins  and  his  leaders,  many  of  them  bragging 
that  the  only  thing  that  deterred  them  from  advocating 


246         THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

war  instanter  was  the  thought  that  they  would  have 
to  kill  so  many  of  the  soldiers,  with  whom  individually 
they  said  there  was  no  quarrel. 

With  such  a  state  of  things,  which  should  have  been 
perfectly  clear  to  the  Intelligence  Department  (and 
through  it  to  the  War  Office)  in  London — because 
no  resident  with  eyes  to  see  could  be  deceived  in  the 
matter — we  allowed  the  present  war  to  find  us  unprepared ! 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE    END    OF    KRUGERISM 

It  may  be  somewhat  premature  to  say  that  Krugerism 
has  been  weeded  out  of  the  souls  of  the  Dutch  race  in 
South  Africa.  The  seed  has  been  sown  too  carefully 
and  its  germination  attended  to  with  such  unremitting 
assiduity  for  so  many  years,  that  the  victory  of  the 
British  troops  and  their  entrance  into  the  capitals  will 
do  but  comparatively  little  towards  the  extermination 
of  the  poisonous  plant.  But  for  all  that,  the  system 
of  authority  calculated  for  the  forwarding  of  purely 
personal  and  selfish  ends,  with  its  endless  corruptions 
and  tyrannies,  will  have  come  to  a  conclusion  when 
the  British  troops  enter  Pretoria  and  plant  the  flag  of 
freedom  upon  the  Government  buildings.  It  may  be 
that  the  memory  of  Paul  Kruger  will  be  reverenced  in 
the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  the  remembrance  of  his 
policy  towards  the  stranger  will  be  still  entertained 
with  respect  in  the  hearts  of  many  of  his  burghers,  so 
that  it  will  need  a  generation  before  the  Boer  and  the 
Uitlander  become  the  members  of  one  family.  It  is 
natural  that  the  conquered  should  look  askance  at  the 
victor.  Savage  instincts  of  revenge  cannot  be  laid 
aside  at  once  after  the  last  shot  has  been  fired,  and 
that  is  especially  the  case  with  men  whose  temperament 
is  fatalistic,  and  whose  most  cherished  ideals  have  been 
swept  away  by  the  hard  logic  of  cold  steel  and  flying 


248       thp:  rise  and  fall  of  krugerlsm 

bullets.  The  one  thing  to  be  guarded  against  in  the 
final  settlement  is  weak-kneed  magnanimity. 

The  Boer  does  not  practise  half-measures  in  his 
quarrels  with  natives.  His  methods  are  stern  and 
uncompromising  when  he  gets  the  better  in  any  con- 
test, and  by  the  same  measure  which  he  metes  out  to 
his  conquered  adversary  must  he  be  dealt  with  in  the 
final  reckoning.  It  was  a  consequence  of  the  weakness 
shown  by  Sir  T,  Shepstone  that  sedition  honeycombed 
the  land  within  a  couple  of  years  after  he  had,  by 
annexing  the  Transvaal  to  the  British  Empire,  saved 
the  people  from  becoming  the  victims  of  the  savage 
hordes  under  Cetewayo,  and  that  the  people  began  to 
talk  of  re-establishing  Boer  supremacy.  He  allowed 
meetings  to  take  place  which  he  had  previously  for- 
bidden, and  took  no  steps  to  punish  the  ringleaders. 
Later  on  Colonel  Lanyon  followed  a  similar  course, 
with  the  result  that  the  whole  country  broke  out  in 
open  rebellion.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  any 
government  which  may  be  established  in  the  Transvaal, 
after  military  rule  has  ceased,  should  be  prepared  to 
deal  firmly  but  justly  with  malcontents.  The  Boer 
understands  both  qualities  when  combined  in  an 
administration ;  but  firmness  wathout  justice  would 
mean  tyranny,  whilst  justice  without  firmness  in  carry- 
ing it  out  would  seem  to  Boers  a  sign  of  weakness  on 
the  part  of  the  Government. 

The  cost  in  valuable  lives  of  the  contest  for  supremacy 
in  South  Africa  has  been  so  enormous,  that  any  policy 
of  the  Home  Government  which  would  leave  matters 
in  a  state  of  doubt  would  be  in  the  highest  degree  to 
be  regretted.  If  the  Free  State  and  the  Transvaal  are 
conquered,  as  they  probably  will  be  before  many  weeks 
are  past,  the  safe  course  would  be  their  permanent 
annexation  to  the  British  Crown,  the  very  idea  of  an 
African  republican  form  of  govsrnment  being  banished  at 


THE  END  OF  KRUGERISM  249 

once  and  for  ever.  To  refrain  from  taking  this  course 
would  be  to  evoke  disloyalty  amongst  the  British,  and 
confirm  the  same  impression  as  that  produced  by  Mr. 
Gladstone's  fatuous  magnanimity.  The  British  resi- 
dents in  the  Transvaal  have  surely  suffered  enough  to 
entitle  them  to  the  fullest  assurances  that  neither  they 
nor  their  children  shall  ever  again  be  subjected  to  the 
tyranny  and  misgovernment  they  have  had  to  bear 
under  Mr.  Kruger's  rule. 

We  do  not  plead  for  the  capitalists,  who  are  secure  in 
the  enjoyment  of  their  fortunes,  but  for  those  who  by  the 
work  of  their  hands  and  the  labour  of  their  brains  have 
made  homes  for  themselves  in  this  distant  land.  They 
constitute,  after  all,  the  backbone  of  a  permanent 
population,  and  are  more  worthy  of  consideration 
than  the  man  who  by  a  fortuitous  concurrence  of 
events  has  made  a  fortune  which  to  enjoy  he  must 
spend  elsewhere.  It  is  due  to  the  loyalty  of  a  few 
sons  of  Great  Britain,  without  fortune,  toiling  hard  for 
their  daily  bread,  that  the  foundations  of  a  regenerated 
Transvaal  were  laid — men  without  means  and  without 
standing  in  what  is  called  'society,'  earnest  in  protect- 
ing what  few  privileges  were  allowed  to  their  country- 
men, and  championing  the  cause  of  those  who  suffered 
oppression.  They  were  loyal  to  their  Queen  when  the 
Uitlander  mining  magnates  professed  to  be  enamoured 
of  the  Republican  flag.  For  it  was  only  at  the  last,  when 
the  battle  was  almost  won,  that  the  capitalists  joined 
hands  with  the  men  who  had  been  labouring  for  many 
years  to  bring  about  a  pure  government  in  the  Trans- 
vaal. These  are  the  men,  and  these  almost  alone,  who 
should  be  considered  when  a  rearrangement  of  affairs 
takes  place.  They  fought  for  the  recognition  of  their 
claim  to  the  rights  of  citizens  by  strictly  constitu- 
tional means,  and  they  alone  by  their  determined  action 
compelled  the  President  to  abandon  his  barbaric  idea 


25C         THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

of  forcing  men  to  fight  the  battles  of  the  RepubHc  when 
they  were  denied  the  rights  and  privileges  of  citi;;ens. 

The  next,  in  order,  entitled  to  have  a  say  in  the  final 
settlement  are  unquestionably  those  British  colonials 
who  have  recognised  their  duty  towards  the  Empire. 
They  have  an  indisputable  claim  to  share  in  deciding 
the  terms  of  the  final  settlement  on  account  of  their 
proved  loyalty  and  enthusiastic  response  to  the  call  of 
duty. 

It  is  humiliating  to  admit  that,  with  the  exception  of 
Natal,  the  non-African  colonies  were  more  eager  to 
stand  by  the  flag  than  those  it  ought  to  have  concerned 
above  every  other  consideration.  As  a  whole.  Cape 
Colony  was  especially  lax  in  its  response  to  the  call : 
but  we  must  even  there  acknowledge  the  individual 
loyalty  which  furnished  some  15,000  of  its  manhood. 
Unfortunately  Cape  Colony  was  cursed  with  a  Ministry 
and  a  Parliamentary  majority  which  decided  that 
it  should  remain  aloof  in  the  struggle,  a  Ministry 
which  would  have  left  Kimberley,  Mafeking,  and 
Kuruman  unarmed  and  unprotected,  which  has  ren- 
dered it  necessary  that  an  army  of  thousands  of  men 
should  be  engaged  in  protecting  from  destruction  by 
rebel  subjects  of  Her  Majesty  the  line  of  railway  running 
through  colonial  territory,  and  which,  up  to  almost 
the  day  when  war  was  declared,  permitted  ammunition 
and  weapons  to  pass  through  its  territory  for  the  purpose 
of  arming  the  Queen's  enemies  !  Mr.  Schreiner  and 
his  colleagues  have  forfeited,  it  seems  to  us,  all  con- 
fidence as  loyal  Ministers  of  a  British  colony,  and  have 
put  themselves  out  of  consideration  by  their  scarcely 
veiled  svmpathies  with  the  Republican  belligerents  and 
the  rebels  furnished  by  the  northern  districts  of  the 
Cape  Colony. 

It  is  not  desirable  to  dwell  more  than  is  necessary  on 
the  actions  of  individuals  holding  elevated  positions  in 


THE  END  OF  KRUGERISM  251 

the  Cape  Colony,  but  one  is  bound  to  take  notice  of  the 
fact  that  the  Chief  Justice  h-as  been  far  more  ready  to 
go  to  the  assistance  of  Mr.  Kruger  than  he  has  been  to 
render  aid  to  the  cause  of  British  subjects  groaning 
under  injustice  and  unfair  taxation.  Sir  H.  de  Vilhers, 
as  a  member  of  the  Royal  Commission  appointed  to 
draw  up  the  Convention  of  Pretoria  at  the  close  of  the 
war  in  1881,  was  enabled,  with  the  assistance  of  Sir 
Hercules  Robinson,  to  secure  for  the  Boers  terms  which 
were,  to  say  the  least,  elastic,  and  that  despite  the 
opposition  of  Sir  E.  Wood,  who  wished  to  insist  upon 
equal  rights  being  accorded  to  all  whites  resident  in  the 
Transvaal  Republic.  The  Convention  of  1881  shows, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  a  naive  simplicity  and  trustfulness 
in. the  good  faith  of  the  re-established  Boer  Government 
which  is  touching,  particularly  as  far  as  those  obligations 
are  concerned,  which  are  really  only  implied,  and  not 
very  accurately  defined,  in  that  document. 

When  the  question  of  a  definite  settlement  comes  up, 
Mr.  Rhodes'  name  will  no  doubt  be  in  everybody's 
mind,  and  it  would  be  advantageous  if  he  were  con- 
sulted. The  hopes  of  the  colonials  are  of  course 
vested  in  the  Colonial  Secretary  and  in  the  High  Com- 
missioner. 

With  Mr.  Chamberlain  at  the  Colonial  Office,  and 
Sir  Alfred  Milner  as  High  Commissioner  at  Cape  Town, 
we  may  rest  assured  that  the  interests  of  British  sub- 
jects in  South  Africa  will  be  as  fully  considered  as 
those  of  the  Empire.  Mr.  Chamberlain  has  declared 
his  intention  to  render  impossible  at  any  future  time 
a  situation  such  as  has  prevailed,  and,  as  he  will  be 
seconded  in  this  by  the  Governor  and  High  Com- 
missioner, a  permanent  settlement  may  be  hoped  for. 

In  casting  the  horoscope  of  the  settlement  of 
Transvaal  affairs  from  the  British  subject  point  of  view, 
we  must  not  neglect  to  look  at  it  also  from  the  burgher 


-52  THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERLSM 

point  of  view.  Since  the  war  commenced  the  Trans- 
vaalers  have  been  recognised  as  belligerents,  and  as 
such  they  are  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges 
which  appertain  to  that  position.  To  treat  them  as 
rebels  because  they  have  refused  to  acknowledge  the 
suzerainty  of  Her  Majesty  since  the  fatuous  Convention 
of  1884  would  elicit  on  their  behalf  the  sympathies  of 
all  nationalities,  and  even  of  no  inconsiderable  propor- 
tion of  British  subjects  residing  in  South  Africa.  They 
accepted  with  no  question  the  assurance  of  Mr.  Kruger 
that  the  suzerainty  no  longer  existed,  and  that  the 
Transvaal  was  an  absolutely  independent  and  sovereign 
Power. 

Thousands  of  men,  women,  and  children  were  com- 
pelled to  flee  from  the  Transvaal,  leaving  their  property 
M'ithout  protection  or  supervision  as  it  stood  in 
thousands  of  houses  in  Pretoria  and  Johannesburg, 
and  they  accepted  that  as  one  of  the  hardships 
which  attend  a  state  of  war.  It  will  be  fair  if  the 
treatment  accorded  to  the  conquered  Boers  is  to  a 
considerable  extent  governed  by  the  way  in  which 
private  property  has  been  treated  after  the  eviction  of 
its  owners.  If  there  has  been  wanton  destruction  or 
robbery  of  effects  which  were  confided  by  the  nature 
of  events  to  the  care  and  protection  of  the  Govern- 
ment, it  will  clearly  be  within  the  nature  of  a  settle- 
ment that  the  members  of  the  Government  should  be 
held  personally  responsible  for  the  losses.*  If,  on  the 
other    hand,    they   have   assumed   the   responsibilities 

*  As  we  pass  these  lines  for  press  on  May  31,  1900,  a  letter 
appears  in  the  columns  of  the  Daily  C/irojiicle  which  contains  so 
graphic  and  so  harrowing  a  description  of  what  has  been  going  on 
in  our  absence  that  we  take  leave  to  reprint  it  in  Appendix  L,  in 
the  hope  that  these  facts  will  not  be  overlooked  when  the  day  of 
reckoning  comes,  and  if  possible  that  these  outrages  will  be  brought 
into  account  in  the  general  settlement,  as  well  as  individual  cases 
of  vandalism  locally  investigated. 


THE  END  OF  KRUGERISM  253 

towards  private  property  imposed  by  modern  warfare, 
they  should  be  entitled  to  the  consideration  of  a 
conquered  civilized  State. 

Mr.  Chamberlain  has  given  notice  to  the  Presidents 
of  the  Transvaal  and  Free  State  that  they  would  be 
held  personally  responsible  for  any  violation  of  the  rules- 
of  civilized  warfare.  Let  us  only  emphasize  that  Mr. 
Kruger  and  his  Executive — not  forgetting  Mr.  Steyn — 
are  for  the  most  part  exceedingly  wealthy.  It  is  also 
necessary  to  bear  in  mind  that  a  large  number  of  the 
Dutch  burghers  who  have  very  properly  obe3'ed  the 
summons  to  the  field  bear  no  animosity  towards  the 
English  race  or  dominion.  They  have  in  the  past 
joined  the  English  in  protesting  against  the  faults  and 
corruption  of  the  Krugerian  rule,  but  as  citizens  they 
have  obeyed  the  call  to  defend  their  country. 

The  only  point  remaining  for  our  consideration  is  the 
best  form  of  government  for  the  conquered  provinces. 
It  would  be  absurd,  even  if  it  were  practicable,  to  give 
representative  institutions  at  once.  For  the  first  year 
or  two  at  the  very  least  it  would  be  desirable  that  the 
Free  State  and  Transvaal  should  be  treated  as  a  Crown 
Colony  under  one  administration.  It  is  possible  that 
for  that  purpose  a  military  officer  of  proved  ability  and 
talent  for  organization  would  be  better  fitted  than  a 
civil  official.  There  wall  be  so  much  to  be  done 
that  only  a  soldier  could  tackle  and  overcome  effec- 
tively, and  which  a  civilian  could  at  best  only  handle 
gingerly.  The  general  disarmament  of  the  Boers  must 
be  undertaken  at  a  very  early  period,  and  there  will 
inevitably  be  a  tendency  upon  the  part  of  the  owners 
of  weapons  liable  to  be  confiscated  to  secrete  them. 
In  carrying  out  such  measures  the  military  are  obviously 
more  suitable  than  civil  authorities. 

Once  things  are  firmly  established,  it  will  be  time  for 
considering  the  best  form  of  a  permanent  Government^ 


254         THE  RISE  AND  FALL  OF  KRUGERISM 

and  as  representative  institutions  are  dear  to  the  British 
heart,  and  have  been  successfully  adopted  by  the 
majority  of  the  colonies,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that 
they  will  have  to  be  tried  here.  As  the  Volksraad 
will,  of  course,  cease  to  exist,  it  will  be  necessary  at 
a  very  early  period  to  form  a  Provisional  Government 
in  the  country,  in  order  to  authorize  taxation  and  other 
matters  and  to  gradually  prepare  the  way  for  a  general 
union  of  the  South  African  colonies  after  the  fashion 
of  the  Canadian  Dominion  and  the  Australian  Con- 
federation. 

Before  that  consummation  can  be  reached  trouble 
will  have  to  be  encountered.  The  Boer  is  naturally 
suspicious,  and  every  action  will  be  weighed  and 
analyzed  before  he  finds  out  what  true  friends  he  has 
in  the  British  Government  and  .the  people  with  whom 
he  will,  nolens  volcns,  have  to  live  in  future.  It  greatly 
depends  upon  the  officials  with  whom  he  has  to  deal 
whether  he  will  yield  a  sullen  or  a  ready  obedience 
under  the  new  order  of  things.  Treated  with  firmness 
combined  with  kindness,  he  will  in  a  short  time  settle 
down,  and,  as  soon  as  he  realizes  that  the  independence 
for  which  he  has  so  blindly  fought  is  a  miserable  sham, 
devised  by  men  desiring  power  only  to  promote  their 
personal  advantage  and  the  acquisition  of  riches  at 
the  expense  of  the  public,  he  will  be  ready  to  accept 
a  government  in  which  all  white  men  are  recognised 
as  equal.  Race  hatred  rarely  exists  between  man  and 
man,  but  it  is  a  terrific  power  in  the  concrete,  and  it 
will  soon  be  our  one  great  and  noble  task  to  eliminate 
it  in  South  Africa,  as  it  has  been  in  other  continents 
in  the  past. 

We  wish  to  give  peace  and  happiness  alike  to  all 
white  and  black  populations,  and  under  our  rule  all 
will  have  justice  and  a  voice  in  the  government. 
Corruption    and    bribery   will   cease,    and  if  only  the 


THE  END  OF  KRUGERISM  255 

minds  of  those  in  whose  hands  the  near  future  of 
South  Africa  reposes  be  guided  with  better  knowledge 
and  clearer  intuition  than  were  British  Cabinets  of  the 
past,  then  indeed  this  war  may  not  have  been  fought 
in  vain,  and  peace  and  happiness  at  last  be  brought  to 
South  Africa.  That  will  constitute  the  balm  for  our 
suffering  and  trouble,  the  fulfilment  of  our  hope  and 
our  prayer — we  who  have  not  fought  for  gold  and 
power,  but  for  the  love  of  our  home. 

As  we  pass  these  lines  for  press,  the  news  of  the 
abandonment  of  Pretoria  and  Johannesburg  arrives,  and 
also  of  the  President's  flight.  This  may  not  mean  the 
immediate  end  of  the  war,  but  it  means  undoubtedly 
the  end  of  Krutrerism. 


APPENDIX  A 

THE  ANNEXATION 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  the  text  of  the  official  docu- 
ments, dated  Pretoria,  Transvaal,  12th  April,  1877,  proclaiming 
the  Transvaal  British  territory.  After  the  usual  preamble,  it 
proceeds : 

Whereas  grievous  disturbances  have  broken  out  in  the  terri- 
tories adjacent  to  our  colonies  in  South  Africa,  with  war  between 
the  white  inhabitants  and  the  native  races,  to  the  great  peril  of 
the  peace  and  safety  of  our  said  colonies  ;  and  whereas,  having 
regard  to  the  safety  of  our  said  colonies,  it  greatly  concerns  us 
that  full  inquiry  should  be  made  into  the  origin,  nature,  and 
circumstances  of  the  said  disturbances,  and  with  respect  to  the 
measures  to  be  adopted  for  preventing  the  recurrence  of  the 
like  disturbances  in  the  future  ;  and  whereas  it  may  become 
requisite  to  this  end  that  the  said  territories  or  portions  of  them 
should  be  administered  in  our  name  and  on  our  behalf.  Now 
know  you  that  we,  reposing  especial  trust  and  confidence  in  the 
loyalty  and  fidelity  of  you,  the  said  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone, 
have  appointed  you  to  be  our  Special  Commissioner  for  the 
purpose  of  making  such  inquiry  as  aforesaid,  and  we  do  authorize 
and  require  you  with  all  convenient  despatch  and  by  all  lawful 
ways  and  means  to  enter  upon  such  inquiry,  and  we  do  require 
you  to  communicate  to  us  through  one  of  our  principal  Secre- 
taries of  State  any  facts  which  ought  to  be  made  known  to  us, 
as  well  as  any  opinions  which  you  may  think  fit  to  express 
thereon,  and  if  the  emergency  should  seem  to  you  to  be  such  as  to 
render  it  necessary,  in  order  to  secure  the  peace  and  safety  of  our  said 
colonies,  and  of  our  subjects  elsewhere,  that  the  said  territories,  or 
any  portion  or  portions  of  the  same,  should  provisionally,  and 
pending  the  announcement  of  our  pleasure,  be  administered  in 
our  name  and  on  our  behalf,  then,  and  in  such  case  only,  we  do 
further  authorize  you,  the  said  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone,  by 
proclamation  under  your  hand,  to  declare  that  from  and  after  z. 


APPENDIX  A  257 

day  to  be  therein  named  so  much  of  any  such  territories  as  afore- 
said as  to  you,  after  due  consideration,  shall  seem  fit  shall  be 
annexed  to,  and  form  part  of,  our  dominions.  [Here  follow  the 
conditions  of  the  appointment.] 

Given  at  our  Court  at  Balmoral   this    fifth   day  of  October, 
1876,  in  the  fortieth  year  of  our  reign. 

By  Her  Majesty's  command, 

Carnarvon, 

[NoTK. — The  italics  are  our  own. — Authors.] 

Extracts   from   Proclamation    by  Sir  Theophilus    Shepstone 
AT  Pretoria,   dated    I2th   of  April,  1877. 

Whereas  at  a  meeting  held  on  the  i6th  day  of  January,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifty-two,  at 
the  Sand  River,  between  Her  Majesty's  Assistant  Commissioners, 
Major  Hogge  and  C.  M.  Owen,  Esq.,  on  the  one  part,  and  a 
deputation  from  the  emigrant  farmers  then  residing  north  of  the 
Vaal  River,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Commander-General 
A.  W.  J.  Pretorius,  on  the  other  part,  the  said  Her  Majesty's 
Assistant  Commissioners  did  '  guarantee  in  the  fullest  manner 
on  the  part  of  the  British  Government  to  the  emigrant  farmers 
north  of  the  Vaal  River  the  right  to  manage  their  own  aiFairs, 
and  to  govern  themselves  according  to  their  own  laws,  without 
any  interference  on  the  part  of  the  British  Government.  And 
whereas  the  hopes  and  expectations  upon  which  this  mutual 
compact  was  reasonably  and  honourably  founded  have  been  dis- 
appointed, and  the  circumstances  as  set  forth  more  at  length  in 
my  address  to  the  people  of  to-day's  date,  hereunto  attached, 
show  that  increasing  weakness  in  the  State  itself  on  the  one  side, 
and  more  than  corresponding  growth  of  real  strength  and  con- 
fidence among  the  native  tribes  on  the  other,  have  produced 
their  natural  and  inevitable  consequences,  as  will  more  fully 
appear  from  a  brief  allusion  to  the  facts  ;  that,  after  more  or  less 
of  irritating  contact  with  aboriginal  tribes  to  the  north,  there 
commenced  about  the  year  1867  gradual  abandonment  to  the 
natives  in  that  direction  of  territory  settled  by  burghers  of  this 
State,  in  well-built  towns  and  villages  and  on  granted  farms  ; 
that  this  was  succeeded  by  the  extinction  of  all  effective  rule 
over  extensive  tracts  of  country  included  within  the  boundaries 
of  the  State,  and,  as  a  consequence,  by  the  practical  independence, 
which  still  continues,  of  large  native  tribes  residing  therein,  who 
had  until  then  considered  themselves  subjects  : 

That  some  few  farmers,  unwilling  to  forfeit  homes  which  they 
had  created  for  their  families,  and  to  which  they  held  grants  from 

17 


258  APPENDICES 

the  Government  of  the  Transvaal,  which  grants  had,  however, 
ceased,  and  still  fail  to  protect  them  in  their  occupation,  made 
terms  with  the  chiefs,  and  now  occupy  their  farms  on  conditions 
of  periodical  payments  to  those  chiefs,  notwithstanding  the 
acknowledgment  which  such  payments  involve  : 

That  this  decay  of  power  and  ebb  of  authority  in  the  north 
is  being  followed  by  similar  processes  in  the  south  under  yet 
more  dangerous  circumstances  ;  people  of  this  State  residing  in 
that  direction  have  been  compelled  within  the  last  three  months, 
at  the  bidding  of  native  chiefs,  and  at  a  moment's  notice,  to 
leave  their  farms  and  homes,  their  standing  crops,  some  of  which 
were  ready  for  reaping,  and  other  property,  all  to  be  taken  pos- 
session of  by  natives,  but  that  the  Government  is  more  powerless 
than  ever  to  vindicate  its  assumed  rights  or  to  resist  the  declension 
that  is  threatening  its  existence  ;  that  all  confidence  in  its 
stability  once  felt  by  surrounding  and  distant  European  com- 
munities has  been  withdrawn  ;  that  commerce  is  well-nigh 
destroyed  ;  that  the  country  is  in  a  state  of  bankruptcy  ;  that 
the  white  inhabitants,  discontented  with  their  condition,  are 
divided  into  factions  ;  that  the  Government  has  fallen  into  help- 
less paralysis  from  causes  which  it  has  been  and  is  unable  to 
control  or  counteract  ;  and  that  the  prospect  of  the  election  o. 
a  new  President,  so  far  from  allaying  the  general  anxiety,  is 
looked  forward  to  by  all  parties  as  most  likely  to  result  in  civil 
war,  with  its  attendant  anarchy  and  bloodshed  : 

That  the  conditions  above  described  afFord  strong  temptation 
to  neighbouring  native  powers,  who  are  known  to  be  anxious 
and  ready  to  do  so,  to  make  attacks  and  inroads  upon  the  State, 
which  from  its  weakness  it  cannot  repel,  and  from  zvhich  it  has 
hitherto  bee?i  saved  b-^  the  restrainiiig  infiuence  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment^ exercised  from  Natal  by  Her  Majesty's  representative  in 
that  colony,  in  the  hope,  yet  unfulfilled,  that  a  friendly  under- 
standing might  be  arrived  at  between  the  Transvaal  and  the 
complaining  native  chiefs, 

(The  Proclamation  then  refers  to  the  Secocoeni  War,  and  states 
that  '  this  tribe  \zuhich,  it  appears,  was  in  alliance  with  Cetewayo^ 
having  successfully  withstood  the  strength  of  the  State,  disclosed 
for  the  first  time  to  the  native  powers  outside  the  republic,  from 
the  Zambesi  to  the  Cape,  the  great  change  that  had  taken  place 
in  the  relative  strength  of  the  white  and  the  black  races  ;  that 
this  disclosure  at  once  shook  the  prestige  of  the  white  roan  in 
South  Africa,  and  placed  every  European  community  in  peril  ; 
that  this  common  danger  has  caused  universal  anxiety,  and  has 
imposed  the  duty  upon  those  who  have  the  power  to  shield 
enfeebled  civilization  from  the  encroachments  of  barbarism  and 
inhumanity.') 


APPENDIX  A  259 

And  whereas  the  ravaging  of  an  adjoining  friendly  State  by 
warlike  savage  tribes  cannot  for  a  moment  be  contemplated  by 
Her  Majesty's  Government  without  the  most  earnest  and  painful 
solicitude,  both  on  account  of  the  miseries  which  such  an  event 
must  inflict  upon  the  inhabitants  of  the  Transvaal,  and  because 
of  the  peril  and  insecurity  to  which  it  would  expose  Her 
Majesty's  possessions  and  subjects  in  South  Africa  ;  and  seeing 
that  the  circumstances  have  become  so  grave  that  neither  this 
country  nor  the  British  colonies  in  South  Africa  can  be  saved 
from  the  most  calamitous  circumstances  except  by  the  extension 
over  this  State  of  Her  Majesty's  authority  and  protection,  by 
means  of  which  alone  oneness  of  purpose  and  action  can  be 
secured,  and  a  fair  prospect  of  peace  and  prosperity  in  the  future 
be  established. 

And  whereas  /  have  bee7i  satisfied  by  the  numerous  addresses^  me- 
morials, and  letters  which  I  have  received,  and  by  the  abundant 
assurances  which  personal  intercourse  has  given  me,  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  Transvaal  see,  in  a  clearer 
and  stronger  light  than  I  am  able  to  describe  them,  the  urgency 
and  imminence  of  the  circumstances  by  which  they  are  sur- 
rounded, and  therefore  earnestly  desire  the  establishment  of  Her 
Majesty's  authority  and  rule;  and  whereas  the  Government  has 
been  unable  to  point  out  or  devise  any  means  by  which  the 
country  can  save  itself,  and,  as  a  consequence,  relieve  the  other 
white  communities  of  South  Africa  from  the  danger  of  the  dire 
events  certain  speedily  to  result  from  the  circumstances  by  which 
it  is  surrounded,  and  can  entertain  no  reasonable  hope  that  it 
possesses,  or  is  likely  under  the  present  form  of  government  to 
possess,  the  means  to  raise  itself  to  a  safe  and  prosperous  con- 
dition, etc. 

Here  follow  the  annexation  clauses,  it  being  stipulated  : 

That  arrangements  will  be  made  by  which  the  Dutch  lan- 
guage will  practically  be  as  much  the  official  language  as  the 
English  ;  all  laws,  proclamations,  and  Government  notices  will 
be  published  in  the  Dutch  language;  in  the  Legislative  Assembly 
members  may,  as  they  do  now,  use  cither  language  ;  and  in  the 
courts  of  law  the  same  may  be  done  at  the  option  of  suitors  to  a 
cause. 

Equal  justice  is  guaranteed  to  the  persons  and  property  of 
both  white  and  coloured;  but  the  adoption  of  this  principle  does 
not  and  should  not  involve  the  granting  of  equal  civil  rights, 
such  as  the  exercise  of  the  right  of  voting  by  savages,  or  their 
being  entitled  to  other  civil  privileges  which  are  incompatible 
with  their  uncivilized  condition. 

The  native  tribes  living  within  the  jurisdiction  and  under  the 

17 2 


26o  APPENDICES 

protection  of  the  Government  must  be  taught  due  obedience  to 
the  paramount  authority,  and  be  made  to  contribute  their  fair  share 
towards  the  support  of  the  State  that  protects  them. 

All  officers  now  serving  the  Government,  and  who  may  be 
able  and  willing  to  serve  under  the  altered  circumstances  of  the 
country,  shall  be  entitled  to  retain  their  positions,  and  such 
rights  as  their  positions  now  give  them. 

(The  Proclamation  then  confirms  the  rights  of  contracts,  etc., 
and  attorneys'  appointments.) 

(Signed)     T.   Shepstone, 
Her  {Majesty^ s  Special  Commissioner. 

Minute  of  the  Volksraad,   22nd  February,    1877. 

Resolved  :  To  recommend  to  the  Government  to  reply  to 
the  despatch  of  Sir  Henry  Barkly,  which  accompanies  the  above- 
named  despatch  and  Bill,  in  conformity  with  these  considera- 
tions ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  take  the  necessary  measures  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  independence  of  the  republic,  for  the 
preservation  of  the  friendly  understanding  between  the  republic 
and  the  neighbourii-ig  States  and  colonies  of  South  Africa,  and 
for  the  continuance  of  general  order,  peace,  and  the  supremacy 
of  the  whites  over  the  natives. 
This  resolution  carried  by  majority. 

(Signed)     T.   G.   C,   van  Leenhof, 

Secretary  of  the  Volksraad. 


Resolution  of  the  Executive  (the  Boer  Cabinet). 

On  the  order  :  Despatch  from  Her  Britannic  Majesty's 
Special  Commissioner,  dated  the  9th  of  April,  1877,  giving 
notice  that  His  Excellency  has  decided  to  proclaim,  without 
delay,  British  authority  over  the  South  African  Republic  : 

That  whereas  Her  Britannic  Majesty's  Government,  by  the 
Convention  of  Sand  River,  1852,  has  solemnly  pledged  the  inde- 
pendence of  the  people  to  the  north  of  the  Vaal  River  : 

Whereas  the  Government  of  the  South  African  Republic  is 
not  aware  of  ever  having  given  any  reason  for  a  hostile  act  on 
the  part  of  Her  Majesty's  Government,  nor  any  ground  for  an 
act  of  violence  : 

Whereas  this  Government  has  ever  shown  its  readiness,  and  is 
still  prepared  to  do  all  which  in  justice  and  equity  may  be  de- 
manded, and  also  to  remove  all  causes  of  dissatisfaction  that  may 
exist  : 

Whereas  this  Government  has  repeatedly  expressed  its  entire 


APPENDIX  A  261 

willingness  to  enter  into  such  treaties  or  agreements  with  Her 
Majesty's  Government  as  may  be  considered  necessary  for  the 
general  protection  of  the  whole  population  of  South  Africa,  and 
is  prepared  punctually  to  execute  such  agreements;  and  whereas 
according  to  public  statements  of  Her  Majesty's  Secretary  of 
State  for  the  Colonies,  Lord  Carnarvon,  there  exists  no  desire 
on  the  part  of  the  British  Government  to  force  the  people  of 
the  South  African  Republic,  against  their  wish,  under  the 
authority  of  the  British  Government : 

Whereas  the  people,  by  memorials  or  otherwise,  have  by  a 
large  majority  plainly  stated  to  be  averse  to  it  ;  and  whereas 
this  Government  is  aware  that  it  is  not  in  a  condition  to  main- 
tain the  right  and  independence  of  the  people  with  the  sword 
against  the  superior  powers  of  Great  Britain,  and,  moreover,  has 
no  desire  to  take  any  steps  by  which  the  white  inhabitants  of 
South  Africa  would  be  divided  in  the  face  of  the  mutual  enemy 
against  each  other,  or  might  come  in  hostile  contact  with  each 
other,  to  the  great  danger  of  the  entire  Christian  population  of 
South  Africa,  without  having  first  employed  all  means  to  secure, 
in  a  peaceful  way  and  by  friendly  mediation,  the  rights  of  the 
people  : 

Therefore  the  Government  protests  most  strongly  against  this 
act  of  Her  Majesty's  Special  Commissioner.  It  is  also  further 
resolved  to  send,  without  delay,  a  Commission  of  delegates  to 
Europe  and  America,  with  full  power  and  instructions  to  add  to 
their  number  a  third  person  if  required,  in  order  to  endeavour, 
in  the  first  place,  to  lay  before  Her  Majesty's  Government  the 
desire  and  wishes  of  the  people  ;  and  in  case  this  might  not 
have  the  desired  effect,  which  this  Government  would  deeply 
regret  and  cannot  as  yet  believe,  i/^en  to  try  and  call  in  the  friendly 
assistance  and  intercession  of  other  Powers,  znd  particularly  of  those 
who  have  acknowledged  the  independence  of  this  State. 

As  members  of  this  Commission  are  appointed  the  Honourable 
Attorney-General,  Dr.  E.  J.  P.  Jorissen,  and  S.  J.  P.  Krugcr, 
Vice-President  of  the  South  African  Republic. 

I  have,  etc., 

(Signed)     H.   Stiemens, 
\st  Clerk. 


Memorial  to  Lord  Carnarvon,    Minister   for  the  Colonies 
IN   England. 

Pretoria,  January  7,  1878. 

We,   the    undersigned,   white    inhabitants    of   the    Transvaal, 
having   this   day   received   report   from   our   deputation   sent   to 


262  APPENDICES 

England,  consisting  of  the  Honourable  S.  J.  P.  Kruger,  Vice- 
President  of  the  South  African  Republic,  and  Dr.  E.  F.  P. 
Jorissen,  State  Attorney,  with  the  view  to  get  back  our  inde- 
pendence, of  which  we  have  been  deprived  on  the  12th  of 
April,  1877,  have  learned  with  deep  regret  that  they  have  not 
been  able  to  obtain  that  object. 

It  pains  them  so  much  the  more,  because  it  appears  most 
clearly  from  the  documents  produced  by  the  deputation,  that 
the  loss  of  their  independence  is  entirely  and  solely  due  to  the 
false  and  incorrect  representation  of  the  position  said  to  have 
existed  here,  as  given  by  people  who  acted  from  selfish  motives 
— in  a  word,  by  calumny. 

The  fact,  however,  that  the  Government  in  England  has  been 
so  totally  misinformed  about  the  real  sentiments  of  the  vast 
majority  of  the  population,  inspires  the  undersigned  with  courage 
to  venture  another  attempt,  and  to  show  by  their  signatures  that 
by  far  the  great  majority  is  opposed  to  the  British  sovereignty. 

We  cannot  yet  dismiss  this  matter  before  we  have  tried  the 
last  means  to  obtain  our  end  by  peaceable  measures,  according  to 
protest  dated  April  11,  1877. 

The  undersigned  cannot  yet  believe  that  it  could  be  England's 
will  and  desire  to  reign  over  a  people  that  will  not  be  subject 
to  any  Power  whatsoever. 

They  much  rather  believe  the  words  addressed  to  them  to-day 
by  Mr.  S.  J.  P.  Kruger,  member  of  the  deputation,  when  he 
said  :  '  Brethren,  people  in  England  really  do  not  know  the  actual 
position  here  ;  and  I  am  fully  convinced  that  England's  first 
Minister,  Lord  Carnarvon,  acted  in  good  faith  when  he  spoke 
in  his  despatch  to  the  deputation  of  that  insignificant  minority.' 

It  is  therefore  with  great  modesty,  but  at  the  same  time  with 
fervent  earnestness,  that  we  entreat  your  Lordship  to  restore  to 
us  our  country — that  country  which  we  love  as  our  lives,  and  for 
which  we  always  were,  and  still  are,  prepared  to  sacrifice  our 
lives.  May  it  therefore  please  your  Lordship  to  be  moved  by  our 
numerous  signatures,  and  to  restore  to  us  our  country. 

Signed  by  6,591  qualified  electors  of  the  South  African 
Republic,  the  original,  with  signatures  attached,  being  in  the 
possession  of  the  deputation,  and  open  for  the  inspection  of  Her 
Majesty's  Government.  In  addition  to  the  above,  memorials  with 
301  signatures  were  obtained,  which  were  informally  sent  in, 
and  thus  have  not  been  counted. 

(Signed)     S^  J    P.  Kruger  \    .j^^j 

P.  J.  JOUBERT         )  '^ 

W.  Ed.  Bok,  Secretary. 


APPENDIX  A  263 

Extract  from   Proclamation  of   Sir    Theophilus  Shepstone, 

REFERRING     TO     THE      MeaNS      BY     WHICH      THE      PETITION      TO 

Lord    Carnarvon    was     signed,    and    the    Spreading    of 
Treasonable   Propaganda,    dated    i  ith    day    of    March, 

1878. 

Whereas  the  return  from  Europe  of  the  Transvaal  deputation 
has  been  made  the  occasion  by  designing  persons  of  creating 
and  fostering  agitation  and  alarm,  by  imposing  upon  the  credu- 
lity and  ignorance  of  the  quietly  disposed  inhabitants  of  this 
country,  and  of  endeavouring  by  the  illegal  use  or  assumption 
of  authority,  such  as  the  banding  together  of  themselves  into 
committees  for  the  purpose  of  misleading  the  public  and  coercing 
individuals,  false  representations,  threats  of  violence  and  seditious 
utterances,  to  cause  disturbance  in  the  land  and  to  bring  mis- 
fortune upon  innocent  people  : 

And  whereas  it  is  my  duty,  as  it  is  also  my  inclination  and 
strong  desire,  by  timely  and  friendly  warning,  to  prevent  such 
misfortune  from  falling  upon  this  country  and  its  inhabitants  : 

And  whereas  one  of  the  pretexts  under  which  the  evils  and 
mischief  aforesaid  have  been  and  are  yet  being  done,  is  to  obtain 
signatures  to  a  mcmoiial  to  Her  Majesty's  Government  ;  and  it 
has  been  represented  to  me  b^  many  persons  and  from  different 
quarters,  that  intimidation  by  means  of  threats  of  personal 
violence,  confiscation  of  property,  and  ez'en  of  death,  has  been 
resorted  to  by  those  engaged  in  coercing  others  to  sign  the  said 
memorial  and  other  documents,  although  it  is  well  known  that 
whoever  signs  a  document  is  responsible  for  the  consequences 
which  may  result  from  such  signature  ;  and  whereas  the  setting 
on  foot  of  the  said  memorial  and  other  documents  was  prompted 
by  a  spirit  of  sedition,  and  their  professed  object  at  the  time 
known  by  those  who  prompted  it  to  be  unattainable  ;  and  whereas 
there  is  a  possibility  of  many  innocent  people  being  made  to 
suffer  in  consequence  of  the  agitation  that  it  has  created,  and 
was  intended  to  create  : 

Now,  therefore,  I  do  call  upon,  enjoin  and  strictly  charge  all 
peaceably  disposed  and  orderly  persons  to  aid  the  oflicers  of  the 
Government  in  maintaining  order,  etc.  (Then  follows  the  usual 
penalty  clauses,  which  it  is  unnecessary  to  quote.) 

Notice. 

Whereas  notice  has  been  received  by  the  Committee  that 
some  persons  should  have  spread  the  rumour  that  they  have  been 
moved  in  signing  the  petitions  for  or  against  annexation  by 
threats,  so  it  is  now  that  opportunity  is  given  to  any  such  person 


364  APPENDICES 

to  make  himself  known  to  the  members  of  the  deputation,  and  to 
scratch  out  his  name  before  the  beginning  of  next  month,  May. 

P.   J.   JOUBERT, 

(Member  oj  the  Deputation, 
Pretoria,  Jpril  (),  1878. 

Extract  from  Letter  of  the  Transvaal  Delegates  to  Sir 
M.  Hicks-Beach,  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies, 
dated  Albemarle  Hotel,  ioth  July,  1878. 

This  letter  practically  denies  in  toto  all  the  statements  made 
by  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone  as  justifying  the  annexation,  and 
as  a  specimen  of  special  pleading  is  very  clever  ;  it  concludes  as 
follows  : 

It  is,  we  unhesitatingly  declare,  owing  to  the  course  pursued 
by  Sir  T.  Shepstone  that  the  present  crisis  has  been  produced. 
Cetewayo,  believing  himself  to  be  encouraged  by  the  Natal 
Government  or  by  Sir  T.  Shepstone,  in  the  demands  he  was 
making  on  the  Transvaal  was  no  doubt  daily  becoming  more 
insolent  and  exacting  ;  but  his  threats  to  the  Transvaal,  which 
reached  the  Transvaal  only  through  Natal,  produced  little  or  no 
effect  until,  by  the  advance  of  the  British  troops,  he  was  led  to 
make  a  similar  mov^ement  towards  the  frontier. 

Cetewayo  has,  with  much  ingenuity,  endeavoured  to  play  off 
one  white  Government  against  the  other,  and,  as  it  seemed  to 
him  at  first,  with  some  success.  That  he  should  now  be 
exasperated  can  excite  no  surprise,  for  he  finds  himself  nor  alone 
foiled  in  his  game,  and  disappointed  of  the  plunder  which  he 
expected  a  joint  invasion  of  the  Transvaal  would  afford,  but  he 
also  now  finds  the  cause  of  his  opponent  espoused  by  those  whom 
he  had  been  led  to  hope  were  his  friends  and  supporters. 

Evidence  in  support  of  what  has  been  advanced  by  Sir  T. 
Shepstone  is,  as  has  been  said,  entirely  wanting  ;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  the  most  striking  contradiction  is  giv-en  to  it  by  the 
present  attitude  of  the  Zulus  towards  his  Government,  and  by 
the  hostilities  in  Secocoeni's  country,  and  with  the  Griquas  at 
the  south-western  border. 

The  above  are  some  of  the  chief  arguments  which  we  have 
to  advance  in  order  to  carry  out  the  instructions  with  which  we 
have  been  charged  ;  and  though  we  are  prepared  to  meet  any 
further  points  which  may  be  urged  in  defence  or  justification  of 
the  annexation,  we  do  not  feel  it  necessary  here  to  go  into 
further  detail. 

We  are  directed  to  support  with  the  voice  oi  the  people  the 
protest  against  the  annexation,  and  at  the  same  time  humbly  and 


APPENDIX  A  263 

earnestly  to  solicit  Her  Majesty's  gracious  consideration  ot  their 
cause. 

We  protest  against  the  annexation  of  the  South  African  Re- 
public on  the  following  grounds  : 

1.  That  it  is  a  violation  of  the  Convention  entered  into  at  Sand 
River  in  January,  1852,  between  Her  Majesty's  Assistant  Com- 
missioners and  the  representatives  of  the  emigrant  farmers. 

2.  That  the  reports  as  to  the  nature  of  the  disturbances  in  the 
Transvaal,  and  the  peril  to  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  adjoining 
colonies  thereby  threatened,  and  upon  which  the  instructions  to 
Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone  were  founded,  were  gross  exaggera- 
tions of  fact,  and  misrepresented  the  actual  position  of  the 
country. 

3.  That  the  condition  laid  down  in  Her  Majesty's  Commis- 
sion to  Sir  Theophilus  Shepstone,  requiring  the  assent  of  the 
inhabitants  thereof,  or  a  sufficient  number  of  them,  has  not  been 
complied  with. 

4.  That  the  British  Government  cannot,  with  justice,  avail 
themselves  of  the  plea  that  the  dcfencelessness  and  disorganiza- 
tion of  the  republic,  and  the  encroachment  of  the  natives,  and 
consequent  danger  to  the  British  colonies,  made  the  intervention 
of  their  authority  a  necessary  act,  inasmuch  as  those  evils,  if 
they  existed,  were  the  direct  result  and  consequence  of  the  acts 
of  their  own  representatives  as  above  referred  to. 

In  concluding  a  letter  upon  a  subject  of  such  vital  importance 
to  our  fellow-countrymen — to  those  who  have  struggled  through 
toil  and  through  danger  for  years  in  the  one  hope  of  preserving 
their  hard-earned  freedom — we  cannot  but  feel  the  deep  re- 
sponsibility that  rests  upon  us,  and  that,  should  we  fail  in  con- 
veying to  Her  Majesty's  Government  the  conviction  of  the 
righteousness  and  justice  of  our  cause,  it  will  be  due  only  to  our 
defects  in  laying  it  before  them. 

We  believe,  however,  that  we  have  fully  met  every  argument 
that  has  been  advanced  to  justify  the  act  for  which  we  now  seek 
redress,  and  we  rest  with  the  fullest  confidence  on  the  sense  of 
justice  and  integrity  of  the  British  nation. 

We  know  that,  as  a  subject  people,  and  who  have  been 
deprived  of  their  independence  by  such  means,  there  will  be 
before  us  many  years  of  bitter  heart-burnings,  of  ill-feeling,  of 
desertion  of  homes,  and  of  wild  and  objectless  wanderings  ; 
while  on  the  other  hand,  with  justice  and  with  freedom,  there  is 
every  reason  to  hope  that  the  Transvaal  may  join  hand  in  hand 
with  the  neighbouring  States  and  colonies  to  work  together  for 
mutual  prosperity  and  happiness,  and  for  the  extension  of  civiliza- 
tion and  Christianity  into  the  far  interior. 

It  is  now  our  earnest  prayer  that  Her  Majesty's  Government 


266  APPENDICES 

may  direct  the  removal  from  the  Transvaal  of  the  Administrator 
of  the  Government,  with  the  British  troops  and  the  official  staff, 
and  may  restore  to  the  country  the  independence  which  was 
guaranteed  by  the  Convention  of  1852,  and  which  has  been 
formally  acknowledged  by  the  Governments  of  Germany,  France, 
America,  Holland,  Belgium,  and  Portugal. 

(Signed)  S.  J     P.   Kruger   )  ^^; 

r.    J.    JOUBERT  I  "^ 

W.    Ed.   Bok,   Secretary. 


APPENDIX  B 

PROOFS  OF  SLAVERY 

Mr.  Nixon,  in  his  book  '  The  Complete  Story  of  the  Transvaal,' 
gives  a  further  reason  for  the  annexation,  in  the  charges  of  slavery 
which  he  brings  against  the  Boers.  This  was  a  breach  of  the 
Sand  River  Convention,  Clause  4  of  which  reads  :  *  It  is  agreed 
that  no  slavery  is,  or  shall  be,  permitted  or  practised  to  the  north 
of  the  Vaal  River  by  the  emigrant  farmers.'  Amongst  other 
cases  Mr.  Nixon  mentions  the  following  ;  we  have  only  quoted 
the  evidence  produced  from  Boer  or  Dutch  sources. 

To  His   Honour  the  State    President,  S.  A.    Republic. 

February  wth,  1875. 

Sir, 

I  feel  very  much  gratified  by  the  receipt  of  Your  Honour's 
Circular  of  the  29th  of  January,  1875,  ^""^  ^  believe  I  cannot 
show  my  gratitude  better  than  by  returning  a  candid  answer  to 
the  five  questions  which  Your  Honour  has  laid  before  me.  I 
have  long  desired  an  opportunity  of  using  the  papers  which  are 
in  my  possession.  I  now,  therefore,  gladly  avail  myself  ot  the 
honourable  way  which  has  been  opened  to  me  to  do  so.  I  shall 
endeavour  to  be  as  brief  as  possible,  and  to  give  Your  Honour 
reliable  evidence  of  the  matters  I  bring  forward.  I  pass  over 
everything  which  I  have  become  acquainted  with  merely  by 
hearsay.   .   .   . 

Second  (Question. — 'Do  you  know,  certainly,  of  any  single  case 
of  slavery,  or  slave  trade,  permitted  by  the  Government  ot  this 
republic,  or  recognised  by  it,  since  the  Declaration  ot  Inde- 
pendence by  Her  British  Majesty's  Government  in  1852  ?' 

Before  I  reply  to  this  question,  I  must  define  what  I  under- 
stand by  slavery.  I  understand  slaves  to  be  persons  who,  against 
their  own  will  and  agreement,  by  craft,  persuasion,  or  violence, 
are  brought  into  a  state  of  servitude  for  a  definite  or  an  indefinite 
period  ;  who  have  no  legal  right  to  claim  wages  for  their  service  ; 


268  APPENDICES 

who  arc  not  free  before  the  expiration  of  a  prescribed  time  to 
engage  themselves  to  any  other  master,  or  to  return  to  their 
families  or  relations.  Slave  trade  is  the  sale  or  exchange  of  such 
persons. 

And  if  I  am  now  asked  to  say  conscientiously  whether  such 
slavery  has  existed  since  1852,  and  been  recognised  and  per- 
mitted by  the  Government,  I  must  answer  in  the  affirmative. 
Will  Your  Honour  be  kind  enough  to  listen  to  my  proofs  ? 

I  begin  with  the  early  laws.  At  Origstad,  the  Landdrost, 
Prinsloo,  was  in  the  habit  of  registering  {inboeken)  so-called  Kaffir 
orphan  children  for  the  term  of  fourteen  years. 

On  the  9th  of  May,  1851,  a  more  stringent  law  was  passed  by 
the  Volksraad  with  reference  to  '  orphan  children,  or  so-called 
apprentices,  who  are  brought  in  by  the  Kaffir  tribes  around  us.' 
This  law  contains  the  following  stipulations  : 

'■Art.  I. — Whoever  obtains  a  child  or  orphan,  of  whomsoever 
he  may  have  obtained  it,  he  must  register  it. 

'■Art.  2. — The  Landdrost  or  Veldcornet  must  make  inquiry  in 
what  manner  anyone  has  become  the  possessor  of  such  a  child. 

'Art.  3. — If  everything  is  in  order,  the  child  must  be  registered, 
and  then  remain  as  a  servant,  till  it  shall  have  reached  the  age 
of  twenty-five,  and  shall  then,  as  of  age,  become  entirely  free 
from  all  forced  obligation  to  any  service. 

'Art.  7. — At  the  death,  or  if  through  the  poverty,  or  any 
other  cause  of  the  owner,  the  latter  should  become  unable  to 
retain  the  child,  it  may  be  made  over  to  others.  Nevertheless, 
no  person  shall  demand  or  receive  more  than  £,z  5s.  for  the 
transference  of  such  a  child.' 

On  the  i6th  of  March,  1866,  the  following  addition  was 
made  to  the  above  law  by  the  Volksraad  : 

'  Art.  I . — No  child  shall  in  future  be  transferred  from  one 
master  to  another  unless  the  guardian  '  [this  is  the  name  given 
to  the  owner  of  the  slave]  '  dies,  when  it  remains  in  the  posses- 
sion of  the  heir.' 

I  need  hardly  say,  that  by  these  laws  the  Government  have 
recognised  and  permitted  slavery.  This  is  proved  by  the 
practical  effect  of  the  resolution  of  the  Volksraad,  which  pro- 
vided that  a  register  should  be  kept  of  apprenticed  orphan 
children.  In  this  about  480  persons  are  entered  by  the  Land- 
drost of  Lydenburg.  This  does  not  include  those  entered  by  the 
various  Veldcornets.  All,  therefore,  which  is  entered  in  this 
register,  as  also  in  the  day-book  of  the  Landdrost  ot  Lydenburg, 
must  be  regarded  as  permitted  and  recognised  by  the  Government. 

I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  quoting  to  Your  Honour  a  few  of 
those  things  which  have  been  extracted  from  the  above-mentioned 
register  : 


APPENDIX  B  269 

Under  No.  7  are  registered,  on  the  3rd  December,  185  i,  by 
H.  T.  Buhrmann,  as  the  Landdrost  of  Lydenburg,  for  himself,  five 
children.  This  one  man  has  sixteen  names  of  children  which 
he  thought  necessary  to  register  for  himself. 

The  subsequent  Landdrost  of  Lydenburg,  C.  Potgieter,  has 
also  sworn  names  registered  for  himself  under  Nos.  25,  193, 
and  194. 

Under  No.  345,  on  the  12th  April,  1866,  is  registered  for 
Mr.  C.  Moll,  St.,  Landdrost  of  Pretoria,  one  child. 

Further,  under  308,  309,  on  the  i  2th  May,  1 865,  are  registered 
for  His  Honour  the  President,  M.  W.  Pretorius,  three  children. 

Can  anyone  avoid  arriving  at  the  conclusion  that  this  is  slavery, 
permitted  and  recognised  by  the  Government  ? 

Third  Question. — '  Do  you  know  of  any  case  of  a  person  at 
present  held  in  slavery  ?' 

I  am  acquainted  with  cases  of  persons  still  held  in  slavery. 
T  shall  relate  to  Your  Honour  only  two  out  of  a  number  which 
in  other  respects  are  worthy  of  special  mention. 

On  the  26th  of  May,  1858,  under  No.  114,  are  registered  for 
the  widow  Gertrude  S.  M.  Kruger,  Clara,  six  years  old,  and 
Azie,  ten  months  old,  without  the  knowledge  or  consent  of  their 
parents,  who  afterwards  recovered  Azie,  but  have  been  unable 
up  to  the  present  moment  to  obtain  Clara.  The  parents  are 
manumitted  slaves  and  members  of  our  church. 

Under  No.  284,  on  the  30th  of  June,  1864,  is  registered  for 
C.  J.  Becking  a  three-year-old  boy  named  Windvogel.  His 
relations  live  on  the  station  Botsabelo,  and  have  made  repeated 
applications  to  the  remarried  widow  of  Becking  for  his  freedom  ; 
but  she  demanded  too  high  a  ransom,  and  thus  he  is  retained  in 
servitude. 

Further,  I  must  mention  that  there  are  many  who  cannot 
recover  their  freedom  among  them,  some  who  never  have  been 
registered : 

1.  Because  the  slaves  themselves  can  never  ascertain  whether 
they  have  been  registered  or  not. 

2.  And  although  they  may  be  aware  of  their  registry,  they 
are  not  in  a  position  to  know  when  their  term  of  service  has 
expired.  With  some  it  appears  as  though  they  never  attained 
the  age  of  twenty-one  or  twenty-five  years. 

3.  Were  a  law  put  into  operation  by  which  all  persons  illegally 
holding  slaves  {i.e.,  without  having  them  registered)  could  be 
severely  punished  and  forced  to  release  them,  a  large  number  of 
the  unfortunate  creatures  would  regain  their  liberty.  Many  of 
these  people,  who  would  have  rendered  great  service  to  agri- 
culture, have  taken  refuge  in  British  colonies  or  have  fled  to 
some  Kaffir  chief  because  they  could  no  longer  endure  the  heavy 


270  APPENDICES 

yoke  with  which  they  were  laden.  There  is  in  this  republic 
still  a  lack  of  labourers,  and  nevertheless  numbers  of  able-bodied 
men  are  daily  forced  to  leave  the  country.  If  any  of  these 
return  voluntarily,  they  are  so  severely  punished  that  the 
majority  prefer  remaining  in  exile. 

Thus,  on  the  9th  of  February,  1863,  under  No.  253,  is  regis- 
tered for  Carel  John  Viljoen,  St.,  Windvogel,  fifteen  years  old. 
In  1872  he  deserted  the  service  of  his  master,  and  fled  to  a 
British  colony.  He  returned,  however,  and  desired  to  go  to  his 
wife  and  children,  who  had  been  taken  from  him.  His  sentence 
was  that  he  should  receive  a  severe  flogging  and  serve  his  master 
another  year,  for  his  term  of  apprenticeship  had  not  yet  expired. 
He  returned  to  his  master,  but  again  fled.  I  do  not  wish  to  take 
the  part  of  Windvogel,  but  when  I  saw  how  fearfully  he  had 
been  lashed  I  could  not  help  bemoaning  the  existence  of 
slavery. 

Fourth  (Question. — '  Are  you  acquainted  with  cases  of  slave- 
dealing  by  private  persons  with  knowledge  of  the  Government 
since  the  establishment  of  the  republic  ?     If  so,  by  whom  ?' 

I  must  also  answer  this  question  in  the  affirmative,  and  shall 
fortify  my  reply  with  the  necessary  evidence. 

1.  Art.  7  of  the  resolutions  of  the  Volksraad  of  the  9th  May, 
185 1,  says  plainly  that  registered  slaves  can  be  transferred  to 
others,  and  that  no  one  shall  receive  as  payment  more  than 
j^2  5s.  for  such  a  slave. 

This  has  also  been  frequently  done. 

2.  Under  No.  7  of  the  Register  two  children  are  mentioned 
who  were  entered  by  H.  T.  Buhrmann,  the  Landdrost,  for 
himself,  whom  he  had  '  lawfully  obtained,'  one  from  F.  A. 
Grobbler,  and  the  other  from  J.  M.  de  Beer. 

3.  Under  Nos.  255  and  256  are  the  words,  'After  the  registry 
of  the  above  names,  G.  S.  Maree  declared  that  he  had  purchased 
the  above-mentioned  Kaffir  orphan  boys  of  Mr.  D.  G.  Coetzee  ' 
(see  Day-book,  p.  142). 

4.  In  the  Day-book  of  the  Landdrost,  under  the  9th  of 
February,  1866,  P.  S.  Coetser  declares  that  he  had  purchased  or 
exchanged  a  girl  for  a  cow  of  Mr.  J.  P.  Steyn. 

5.  Under  the  14th  of  February,  1866,  Mr.  H.  J.  Viljoen  had 
registered  August,  a  boy  of  three  years  old,  whom  he  in  1864 
had  exchanged  with  the  Kaffirs  of  Umswaas  for  an  ox. 

6.  Under  the  14th  of  February,  1866,  is  entered  that 
J.  G.  Breytenbach  has  exchanged  Roselyn,  a  girl  of  eight  years 
of  age,  for  a  blanket. 

The  above  letter  was  sent  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Nachtigal,  of  the 
Berlin  ^Missionary  Society,  the  missionary  at  Botsabelo,  to  Pre- 


APPENDIX  B  271 

sidcnt  Burgers  in  1875,  in  response  to  a  circular  from  the 
President  making  inquiries  about  the  existence  of  slavery.  Pre- 
sident Burgers  had  previously  denied  to  Sir  Harry  Barlcly  the 
existence  of  slavery  in  1874,  and  this  in  indignant  terms. 

Again,  Mr.  Nixon  refers  to  this  disgraceful  state  of  things  as 
follows  :  '  Thus  I  find  it  stated  in  the  Transvaal  Argus  of  the 
8th  of  September,  1868  :  "On  Sunday,  the  19th,  Holy  Com- 
munion was  administered.  At  the  service  of  the  first  table 
Mr.  Cachet  spoke  very  earnestly  to  the  assembled  congregation. 
He  advised  all  who  were  guilty  of  drunkenness,  the  shedding  of 
innocent  blood,  violence,  and  the  sale  or  purchase  of  Kafiir 
children  to  refrain  from  the  Lord's  Table.'" 

Again,  Mr.  Cachet  proposed,  and  the  Rev.  Mr.  Jooste 
seconded,  a  resolution  at  the  General  Synod  of  the  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church  at  Utrecht,  on  the  5th  of  November,  1869,  to 
the  following  effect:  'This  meeting,  seeing  that  the  existing 
laws  against  slavery  and  slave-dealing  are  almost  entirely  a  dead 
letter,  determines  to  exercise  church  discipline  on  those  members 
who,  from  this  time  forth,  make  themselves  guilty  of  the  sale  or 
purchase,  the  exchanging,  the  giving  or  receiving  of  Kafiir 
children,  all  of  which  are  practices  contrary  to  the  letter  of  the 
laws  of  the  land.' 

In  1876  Khama,  the  well-known  chief  of  the  Bamangwato, 
also  implored  the  British  Government  to  take  him  under  their 
protection,  alleging  cruelty  and  slave-dealing  on  the  part  oi  the 
Boers.  We  are  unable  to  reproduce,  owing  to  want  of  space,  so 
many  of  the  proofs  given  by  Mr.  Nixon  as  we  should  desire,  but 
the  facts  given  here  appear  to  be  unanswerable. 


APPENDIX  C 

EXTRACTS  FROM  MR.  LIONEL  PHILLIPS'  LETTERS 
TO  MESSRS.  BEIT  AND  WERNHER,  AS  PRO- 
DUCED AT  THE  SELECT  AND  SOUTH  AFRICAN 
COMMITTEES.* 

Jioie  loth,  1894. 

I  don't,  of  course,  want  to  meddle  in  politics,  and,  as  to  the 
franchise,  do  not  think  many  people  care  a  fig  about  it.  What 
is  rankling  in  people's  minds  is  the  open  hostility  of  the  Govern- 
ment to  the  Uitlanders,  and  their  disregard  for  all  principles  of 
sound  government.  If  we  can  only  improve  the  Raad  and  get 
progressive  men  in,  money  will  be  well  spent  in  this  way.  As 
things  are  going,  we  shall  have  to  spend  more  and  more  each  year 
to  prevent  villainous  burdens  being  tacked  on  to  the  industry, 
and  the  end  will  be  revolution.  I  am  having  a  most  worrying 
time  all  round.  On  the  one  hand  I  check  the  hot-headed 
agitators  who  could  land  us  in  a  mess  in  no  time,  and  on  the 
other  have  to  plot  and  plan  to  circumvent  mischievous  legisla- 
tion. 

June  16th,  1894. 

The  Bewaarplaatsen  question  will,  I  think,  be  settled  in  our 
favour,  but  at  a  cost  of  about  _^2  5,000.  ...  lam  also  informed 
that  he  [the  President]  said  he  was  very  angry  with  the  Eck- 
steins, that  Nelmapius  was  the  best  friend  the  State  had  ever 
had,  and  now  he  is  gone  his  widow  has  nothing,  while  we  have 
made  a  large  fortune  out  of  him.  I  think  that  evil  communication 
must  have  its  origin  with  .  .  .  Someone  has  told  the  Govern- 
ment that  the  Uitlanders  intend  to  petition  their  respective 
Governments  to  put  this  country  under  international  control,  as 
Egypt  was,  and  the  Government  is,  I  hear,  seriously  concerned 
about  this.  There  is,  of  course,  another  possible  contingency, 
viz.,  an  appeal  to  all  the  other  States  and  colonies  of  South 
Africa.  .  .  .  The  war  in  the  north,  if  Magato  joins,  is  by  no 
means  a  foregone  conclusion  ;  and  I  see  the  English  Government 

*  The  italics  are  our  own. 


APPENDIX  C  273 

is  objecting  to  the  commandeering  ot  British  subjects,  which 
may  lead  to  complications. 

June  2^th,  1894. 

Cyanide. — Your  cable  to  hand.  Solomon  is  going  to  see  Sir 
Henry  Loch.  I  shall  not  mix  up  if  I  can  help  it.  It  seems 
that  the  British  Government  means  to  have  a  say  here,  and  it  is 
about  time.  What  I  fear  is  that  they  may  put  the  brake  on  one 
thing,  and  we  may  be  more  oppressed  by  some  devilment  of  the 
Government  in  another  direction.  The  Government  is  abso- 
lutely rotten,  and  we  must  have  reform.  The  alternative  is 
revolution  or  English  interference.  Kruger  seems  beyond  himself, 
and  imagines  he  is  guided  by  Divine  will.  .  .  .  P.S. — If  the 
British  Government  can  (or  will)  interfere  in  a  cyanide  mono- 
poly, it  ought  with  equal  reason  to  object  to  the  dynamite 
monopoly.  Nobels  would  of  course  resist  their  interference  in 
the  dynamite  business  now  I 

July  1st,  1894. 

I  see  that  Marquardt  [Messrs.  Eckstein's  Pretoria  agent]  has  a 
very  sanguine  view  of  the  effect  of  the  late  demonstration.  .  .  . 
I  do  not  quite  share  that.  I  think  their  eyes  have  been  opened 
to  the  fact  of  there  being  a  sullen  discontent  among  the  aliens. 
Sir  Henry  Loch  put  on  the  brake  in  the  matter  of  commandeer- 
ing, and  no  doubt  gave  them  good  advice  upon  general  matters. 
How  far  they  will  act  upon  it  remains  to  be  seen.  I  do  not 
suppose  they  will  attempt  any  further  repressive  legislation  this 
session,  but  I  do  not  believe  they  will  undo  anything  already  done. 
Sir  Henry  Loch  (with  whom  I  had  two  long  private  interviews 
alone)  asked  me  some  very  pointed  questions,  such  as  what  arms 
already  in  Johannesburg,  whether  the  population  could  hold  the 
place  for  six  days  until  help  could  arrive,  etc.  ;  and  stated 
further  that,  if  there  had  been  3,000  rifles  and  ammunition  here, 
he  would  certainly  have  come  over.  He  further  informed  me 
in  a  significant  way  that  they  had  prolonged  the  Swazi  Agree- 
ment for  six  months,  and  said  he  supposed  in  that  time  Johannes- 
burg would  be  better  prepared — as  much  as  to  say,  if  things  are 
safer,  then  we  shall  actively  intervene.  I  persuaded  him  not  to 
visit  Johannesburg,  and  subsequently  I  believe  (at  least,  told  on 
excellent  authority)  that  President  Kruger  personally  requested 
him  not  to  come  here.  Sir  Henry  persisted  that  he  felt  sure  the 
British  subjects  would  commit  no  overt  act,  but  Kruger  replied 
that  he  could  not  answer  for  his  burghers  under  the  circum- 
stances. The  Government  has  had  a  fright,  and  knows  that  the 
first  shot  unjustly  fired  by  the  burghers  would  mean  English 
intervention  and  the  loss  of  the  independence  of  the   Republic. 

18 


274  APPENDICES 

In  case  of  hostilities,  apart  from  the  loss  of  life,  the  Boers  would 
doubtless  do  no  end  of  damage  to  machinery.  Of  course,  we 
don't  want  any  row;  but,  as  I  told  Esselen  and  Leyds,  if  the 
Government  or  Raad  does  nothing  to  pacify  the  people,  we 
shall  have  a  revolution  sooner  or  later.   .  ,   . 

July  15M,  1894. 

Politics. — Just  got  your  cable  reading  '  Don't  see  Rhodes,'  etc., 
of  which  I  am  rather  glad.  Things  are  quieter,  but  I  think  a 
good  many  men  are  buying  rifles  in  case  of  contingencies.  If 
Sir  Henry  Loch  comes  back  in  six  months  about  Swazieland 
there  may  then  be  a  row.  I  enclose  a  letter  to  Smith  [probably 
a  journalist].  If  you  think  it  too  free  on  politics,  destroy  it  ;  if 
not,  please  deliver.  JVe  don't  want  any  row.  Our  trump  card 
is  a  fund  of  j^io,ooo  to  ^^i  5,000,  to  improve  the  Raad.  Un- 
fortunately, the  companies  have  no  secret  service  fund,  I  must 
devise  a  way.  We  do  not  want  to  shell  out  ourselves.  I  must 
hear  how  much  Langermann  is  ready  to  subscribe.  I  am  told 
he  has  said  he  would  spend  money,  so  I  presume  J.  B.  R[obinson] 
must  have  authorized  it. 

August  xztk,  1894. 

If  they  [the  Government]  knew  there  were  3,000  or  so  well- 
armed  men  here,  there  would  be  less  talk — anyhow,  less  real 
danger  of  wiping  out  Johannesburg  upon  occasions  like  the 
recent  incident.  .  .  .  Kruger  has  become  such  an  autocrat  that 
we  can  hardly  expect  him  to  initiate  a  change,  but  he  will  bow 
to  the  will  of  the  country  if  he  sees  it  is  inevitable. 


APPENDIX  D 

GERMAN     EMPEROR'S    BIRTHDAY    CELEBRATION 
AT  PRETORIA. 

From  the  '  Star,'  Johannesburg,  South   African  Republic,  of 
Monday,   zSth  January,    1895. 

Saturday  being  the  birthday  of  the  German  Emperor,  the 
occasion  was  celebrated  locally  by  a  '  Kommers '  given  at  the 
Transvaal  Hotel  by  the  members  of  the  German  Club. 

President  Kruger,  replying  to  the  Chairman's  speech,  said  : 
Mr.  Consul,  members,  and  gentlemen, — I  am  sorry  I  could  not 
understand  all  that  the  chairman  said,  as  I  do  not  know  German, 
but  with  the  assistance  of  Dr.  Leyds  I  was  able  to  follow  the 
chief  points.  Still,  it  is  difficult  to  follow  a  speech  if  you  do  not 
understand  it.  In  the  first  place,  then,  I  must  thank  you  for  the 
kind  manner  in  which  you  received  the  toast,  and,  seeing  that 
your  chairman  has  referred  to  my  career  and  this  Republic  in 
connection  with  Germany,  I  will  refer  to  those  points  first.  I 
will  be  as  brief  as  possible,  as  time  fiies.  I  only  regret  I  could 
not  follow  him  more  closely.  You  all  know  that  in  the  year 
1884  I  went  to  England  about  the  Convention  with  'Her 
British  Majesty  the  "King"  of  England  and  "Kaiser"  of  Ire- 
land' (laughter).  I  went  to  'Europe  and  England'  in  a 
friendly  manner  to  endeavour  to  have  that  Convention  altered, 
and  the  British  Government  received  me  in  a  friendly  manner 
and  had  that  matter  of  the  suzerainty  altered.  Previously  I 
could  not  enter  into  treaties  with  other  countries  without  Her 
Majesty's  consent ;  but  they  met  me  in  a  friendly  spirit,  and  the 
treaty  was  altered.  They  relinquished  the  suzeraintv,  and  I  was 
free,  I  was  pleased  Her  Majcstv  met  me  in  such  a  friendly 
spirit,  and  gave  us  and  our  Republic  our  free  pardon.  After 
that  I  went  through  Europe,  and  amongst  other  places  I  visited 
Germany,  where  I  was  received  by  the  Kaiser.  I  always 
thought  before  that  that  our  Republic  was  regarded  as  a  child 
among  other  countries,  but  the  Kaiser  received  me  as  the  rcprc- 

18—2 


276  APPENDICES 

sentative  of  a  grown-up  Republic.  I  was  courteously  treated, 
and  was  able  to  enter  into  a  treaty  with  Germany,  our  Republic 
being  recognised  as  an  important  country.  I  always  had  the 
greatest  respect  for  Wilhelm  I.  Wilhelm  II.,  who  now  reigns, 
I  met,  but  only  casually,  but  what  I  saw  of  him  gave  me  the 
impression  that  he  would  follow  in  his  namesake's  footsteps,  and 
that  he  would  endeavour  to  narrow  the  bonds  of  friendship  that 
exist  between  Germany  and  this  country.  I  have  received  proof 
of  it  since  he  has  been  reigning,  and  he  has  decorated  me  with 
the  Order  of  the  Red  Eagle.  His  father  I  met  as  well,  and  he 
received  me  very  kindly.  I  have  another  proof  of  the  goodwill 
of  Germany  in  the  subjects  of  that  empire  who  come  into  this 
Republic  to  stay.  They  have  always  proved  law-abiding  citizens, 
and  in  our  trouble  with  the  blacks — not  only  the  recent  ones, 
but  in  those  of  former  years — they  willingly  came  forward  to 
assist  us,  and  refrained  from  stirring  up  the  burghers  against  the 
laws  of  the  land.  I  know  I  may  count  on  the  Germans  in 
future,  and  I  hope  Transvaalers  will  do  their  best  to  strengthen 
and  foster  the  friendship  that  exists  between  them.  Only  lately, 
when  the  subjects  of  Her  Majesty  the  Queen  of  Britain  took 
shelter  under  their  nationality,  four  Germans — I  could  mention 
their  names — came  to  my  house  and  said,  'We  are  subjects  of 
the  Kaiser  of  Germany,  and  have  not  been  naturalized  ;  but  we 
have  come  to  live  here,  and  if  you  wish  us  to  assist  in  defending 
the  land  we  are  willing  to  do  so.  If  you  want  us,  we  will  go  ;' 
and  they  went.  That  is  the  spirit  I  admire,  and  they  obeyed 
and  respected  the  law.  I  do  not  often  go  out,  gentlemen.  On 
a  few  occasions  I  have  attended  celebrations  in  honour  of  Her 
Majesty  the  Queen,  but  this  is  the  first  Kaiser  celebration  I  have 
taken  part  in.  It  may  be  the  last,  although  I  did  not  feel  that 
I  could  refuse  the  invitation  to  attend  here  this  evening.  When 
the  Convention  with  Her  Majesty's  Government  was  signed,  I 
regarded  this  Republic  as  a  little  child,  and  a  little  child  has  to 
wear  small  clothing.  When  a  child's  clothes  are  made,  they  must 
not  be  made  to  fit  a  man  ;  but  as  the  child  grows  up  it  requires 
bigger  clothes — the  old  ones  will  burst  (laughter).  And  that  is 
our  position  to-day.  We  are  growing  up,  and  although  we  are 
young,  we  feel  that  if  one  nation  tries  to  kick  us  the  other  will 
try  to  stop  it.  When  we  asked  Her  Majesty's  Government  for 
bigger  clothes  they  said,  '  Eh  ?  eh  ?  What  is  this .?'  and  could 
not  see  that  we  were  growing  up.  As  regards  this  celebration, 
I  am  very  pleased  to  see  you  Germans  here  to  do  honour  to  your 
Kaiser.  You  have  proved  law-abiding  citizens  here,  and  I  feel 
certain  when  the  time  comes  for  the  Republic  to  wear  still  larger 
clothes  you  will  have  done  much  to  bring  it  about.  It  is  my 
wish  to  continue  those  peaceful  relations,  and  I  wish  also  to  give 


APPENDIX  D  277 

Germany  all  the  support  a  little  child  can  give  to  a  grown-up 
man.  The  time  is  coming  for  our  friendship  to  be  more  firmly- 
established  than  ever.  I  now  ask  you  to  drink  to  Kaiser 
Wilhelm,  and  may  he  continue  in  the  footsteps  of  his  grand- 
father, Wilhclm  I.,  and  may  he  enjoy  God's  blessing! 


Despatch  to   Count  Hatzfeldt,   Imperial  Ambassador  in 
London. 

Berlin,  February  i,  1895. 

I  have  the  honour  to  inform  Your  Excellency  of  an  interview 
which  I  have  to-day  had  with  the  English  Ambassador.  Sir 
Edward  Malet  communicated  to  me  a  private  despatch  from 
Lord  Kimberley,  which  contained  some  remarks  concerning  the 
attitude  of  Germany  towards  the  South  African  Republic  relative 
to  President  Kruger's  words  when  proposing  the  Emperor's  health 
on  the  27th  ultimo. 

I  remarked  to  the  Ambassador  that  if  Lord  Kimberley  believed 
that  a  spirit  unsuited  to  the  international  position  of  the  Trans- 
vaal was  being  encouraged  in  that  country  by  the  attitude  of 
Germany,  the  obligation  to  give  facts  on  which  to  found  his 
presumption  lay  with  him.  I  asked  whether  it  was  possible  that 
Lord  Kimberley  regarded  President  Kruger's  sentiment  as  regards 
His  Majesty  the  Emperor  as  an  expression  of  that  spirit,  and  as 
compromising  British  interests. 

I  said  that  our  policy  had  the  simple  object  of  protecting 
against  any  attack  those  material  interests  which  Germany  had 
acquired  through  the  construction  of  railways  and  the  opening  up 
of  commercial  relations  with  the  Transvaal.  These  interests 
demanded  the  maintenance  of  the  Transvaal  as  an  independent 
State,  as  laid  down  in  the  Treaty  of  1 884,  and  a  guarantee  of  the 
status  quo  as  regards  the  railways  and  the  harbour  of  Dclagoa 
Bay.  I  said  that  this  indicated  the  beginning  and  end  of  our 
policy  in  those  parts. 

I  asked  why,  if  Lord  Kimberley  aimed  equally  at  the  main- 
tenance of  the  status  quo,  a  check  was  not  put  upon  those  who, 
while  making  most  unseemly  and  imprudent  attacks  upon 
Germany,  were  openly  in  London  proclaiming  the  programme 
of  the  absorption  of  the  Transvaal  by  Cape  Colony.  Before 
people  addressed  more  or  less  veiled  reproaches  to  the  German 
Government,  it  would  be  better  to  check  certain  aspirations, 
which  ran  counter  to  the  maintenance  of  the  status  quo,  and 
which  alone  were  the  cause  why  the  Transvaal  was  more  and 
more  adopting  the  tone  which  Lord  Kimberley  complained  of, 
and  with  which  he  was  inclined  to  credit  Germany.    Sir  Edward 


278  APPENDICES 

regretted  the  attacks  upon  Germany,  but  believed  that  in  Dr. 
Jameson's  latest  speech  no  purpose  of  annexation,  but  merely 
the  idea  of  a  *  commercial  federation  '  of  the  South  African 
States,  was  to  be  found.  I  retorted  that  it  was  precisely  this 
idea  which  Dr.  Jameson  had  developed,  namely,  that  Rhodesia 
should  become  the  'commercial  union,  amalgamation,  or  federa- 
tion of  all  South  African  States';  that  was  opposed  to  our 
interests,  because  that,  rather  more  shortly  put,  signified 
politically  a  protectorate,  and  economically  a  trade  monopoly, 
for  Cape  Colony,  and  the  exclusion  of  German  commerce.  It 
the  English  colonial  party  were  sensitive  on  the  question  of  the 
Transvaal,  ours  was  equally  so.  If  Lord  Kimberley  desired  the 
maintenance  of  the  status  quo,  our  views  were  in  every  way 
identical,  and  I  regarded  it  as  by  no  means  an  impossibility  that 
we  should  place  this  agreement  on  paper.  I  emphasized  espe- 
cially that  the  policy  which  Mr.  Rhodes  had  announced  of  the 
gradual  absorption  of  the  Transvaal  by  Cape  Colony,  and  of  the 
foundation  of  a  commercial  federation  in  order  to  hasten  this 
process,  could  scarcely  be  described  as  a  policy  of  the  maintenance 
of  the  status  quo. 

(Signed)   Marschall. 
His  Excellency  Count  Hatzfeldt. 


APPENDIX  E 

SELECT  COMMITTEE  ON  BRITISH  SOUTH  AFRICA. 

From  the  Uitlanders'  Association,  Pretoria,  South  African 
Republic,  to  the  Right  Hon.  Joseph  Chamberlain,  M. P., 
Her  Majesty's  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Colonies, 
Downing    Street,  London. 

Pretoria,  Transvaal, 

3  Jpri/,  1897. 

Sir, 

We  beg  leave  to  confirm  our  cablegram  of  the  2nd  in- 
stant (a  copy  of  which  is  enclosed  herewith),  and  to  amplify  the 
same  as  follows  : 

From  cabled  reports  of  Mr.  Schreiner's  examination  before 
the  Parliamentary  Committee  we  observe  that  he  is  represented 
to  have  said  (inter  alia)  :  '  The  grievances  of  the  Uitlanders  are 
greatly  exaggerated  ' ;  but,  we  understand,  he  afterwards  ad- 
mitted that  the  summary  of  grievances  issued  by  Mr.  Charles 
Leonard  was  a  fair  one. 

We  submit  that  Mr.  Schrciner,  not  being  a  resident  of  the 
Transvaal,  and  never  having  had  under  British  rule  to  submit 
to  any  such  restrictions  and  disabilities  as  those  imposed  upon  us, 
is  not  so  competent  to  tcel  or  to  judge  of  the  hardships  com- 
plained of  as  are  those  who  live  under  them,  and  we  aver  that 
no  exaggeration  has  taken  place. 

It  has  not  been  denied  that  the  grievances  set  forth  in  Mr. 
Charles  Leonard's  manifesto  of  December,  1895,  do  exist,  nor 
that  the  Press  Law,  the  Immigration  and  Aliens  Pass  Law,  and 
the  Firearms  Law,  and  the  law  subordinating  the  courts  of 
justice  in  this  State,  have  since  actually  been  promulgated  and 
carried  into  effect,  and  we  contend  that  the  Uitlanders  must  be 
best  able  to  realize  the  extent  of  the  pernicious  effect  such  laws 
have  on  the  people  and  the  industries  of  this  State. 

Referring  further  to  Mr,  Schreiner's  examination,  we  beg  to 
distinguish    between    what    might    be    termed    Mr.    Schreiner's 


28o  APPENDICES 

voluntary  statements  and  those  admissions  drawn  from  him 
during  his  examination. 

In  reply  to  some  of  your  questions,  he  is  reported  to  have  said 
{inter  alia)  that,  in  case  of  hostilities  between  Her  Majesty's 
Government  and  the  Transvaal,  Cape  Colonists  of  Dutch  ex- 
traction would  hesitate  between  their  loyalty  to  Great  Britain 
and  their  feelings  of  kinship  with  the  Transvaal  Boers,  and  that 
it  would  be  a  great  strain  upon  their  loyalty  to  be  required  to 
assist  the  imperial  forces  in  the  event  of  such  a  war. 

This  significant  admission  is  all  the  more  important  by  reason 
of  the  various  indications  of  Transvaal  Boer  intrigue  with  their 
Cape  relations,  and  from  the  fact  that  (as  far  as  we  are  aware) 
no  representative  body  of  Dutch  colonists  have  denied  the  truth 
of  such  admission. 

We  therefore  most  humbly  and  sincerely  trust  that,  in  view 
ot  the  strenuous  warlike  preparations  which  we  know  are  con- 
tinuously being  made  by  the  Transvaal  Government,  Her 
Majesty's  Government  would  take  such  precautionary  measures 
as  will  efficiently  safeguard  imperial  interests  and  the  welfare  of 
Her  Majesty's  loyal  subjects  in  this  part  of  the  world. 

This  association,  whilst  deeply  regretting  the  fact  that  such 
serious  disaffection  should  exist  among  Her  Majesty's  Dutch 
colonial  subjects,  cannot  but  feel  grateful  to  Your  Honour  for 
having  thus  forcibly  brought  such  circumstance  to  the  notice  of 
Her  Majesty's  Government  and  people. 

Mr.  Schreiner  is  also  reported  to  have  said,  that  for  one  Uit- 
lander  dissatisfied  with  the  apathy  of  Her  Majesty's  Government 
one  hundred  are  satisfied. 

We  beg  to  remark  that  witness  is  also  incompetent  to  form  an 
accurate  opinion  on  this  point,  and  that  he  had  no  authority 
whatever  from  the  Uitlanders  for  making  the  above  statement. 

If  is  easy  to  understand  that  some  persons,  drawing  Transvaal 
Government  subsidies  or  pay,  should  approve  of  the  apathy  of 
Her  Majesty's  Government,  in  order  to  prolong  the  present  state 
of  affairs  ;  but,  from  our  daily  experience  and  intercourse  as 
business  and  working  men  with  our  fellows,  we  know  that, 
should  the  Uitlander  population  be  canvassed,  the  probability  is 
that  the  above-mentioned  ratio  would  nearly  be  reversed. 

We  further  beg  to  invite  Your  Honour's  attention  and  that  of 
the  Parliamentary  Committee  of  Inquiry  to  the  fact  that  since 
Johannesburg's  unsuccessful  attempt  at  revolution,  our  grievances, 
instead  of  being  lessened,  have  been  increased  (notwithstanding 
the  pretences  at  reform  made  by  the  Government  of  this  State), 
notably  by  the  passing  of  the  Press  Law,  the  Immigration  and 
Aliens  Pass  Law,  the  Firearms  Law,  and  the  law  subordinating 
the  courts  of  justice  to  the  unfettered  caprice  of  the  Volksraad, 


APPENDIX  E  281 

by  reason  of  which  laws  public  expression  of  opinion  has  been 
made  almost  impossible,  the  right  to  enter  and  reside  freely  in 
this  State  has  been  taken  away,  and  public  confidence  in  courts 
of  justice  has  been  greatly  shaken,  so  that  we  are  now  unable 
to  defend  ourselves  against  unjust  and  oppressive  laws  either  by 
open  defiance  or  by  confident  appeal  to  the  courts  of  law  for 
redress. 

As  a  result  of  this  further  combination  of  evils,  enormous 
sums  of  foreign  capital  are  being  withdrawn  from  the  country, 
all  enterprise  is  practically  stopped,  trade  and  commerce  languish, 
large  numbers  of  men  are  being  thrown  out  of  employment,  and 
we  fear  that  unless  substantial  reforms  are  promptly  inaugurated 
the  situation  will  become  even  more  critical,  and  life  and  pro- 
perty will  be  yet  further  endangered  and  jeopardized. 

We  confidently  appeal  to  Her  Majesty's  Government,  there- 
fore, to  strictly  enforce  the  Convention  of  1884,  and  all  the 
agreements  and  understandings  by  means  of  which  the  Transvaal 
regained  its  partial  independence,  and  to  take  such  measures  as 
will  prevent  catastrophe  from  overwhelming  the  whole  of  South 
Africa. 

On  behalf  of  the  Uitlanders'  Association, 

I  have,  etc., 

Ernest  Dusting, 

Hon.  Secretary. 

From   Uitlanders'  Association  to   Colonial  Secretary, 
London. 

Pretoria,  2  Jpril,  1897. 

Deny  Schreiner's  statement  that  Uitlanders'  grievances  are 
exaggerated,  but  grateful  for  admissions  elicited  by  you  from  him. 
Schreiner's  voluntary  statement,  Uitlanders  satisfied  with  im- 
perial apathy,  totally  incorrect. 

A  true  copy, 

Ernest  Dusting, 

Hon.  Secretary. 


APPENDIX  F 

THE  AFRICANDER  BOND 

Extract  from  a  Speech  by  Mr.  J.  X.  Merriman  in  1885  ;  he  is 
NOW  A  Member  of  the  Bond  Ministry. 

Now  the  situation  is  a  grave  one.  It  is  not  a  question  of 
localism,  it  is  not  a  question  of  party  politics,  but  it  is  a  question 
whether  the  Cape  Colony  is  to  continue  to  be  an  integral  part 
of  the  British  Empire.  The  question  is  whether  we  intend  to 
progress  along  the  lines  of  freedom,  of  civilization,  and  respect 
for  law  and  order,  or  whether  we  are  ready  to  take  the  Transvaal 
for  a  model,  and  have  our  policy  shaped  by  the  Africander  Bond. 
There  is  no  begging  the  question.  That  has  been  the  plain 
question  before  the  colony,  and  there  is  no  use  hiding  it.  That 
is  the  question  said  out  of  doors,  and  it  should  be  said  in  public. 
It  is  said  at  the  corners,  and  should  be  said  from  the  platform. 
That  being  the  case,  strong  language  might  be  excused,  but  I 
will  endeavour  to  be  studiously  moderate.  It  is  not  a  time  when 
any  citizen  can  sit  with  his  hands  folded.  They  would  have  to 
keep  the  public  men  up  to  the  mark,  and  each  one  of  you  will 
have  to  make  up  his  mind  whether  he  is  prepared  to  see  this 
colony  remain  a  part  of  the  British  Empire,  which  carries  with 
it  obligations  as  well  as  privileges,  or  whether  he  is  prepared  to 
obey  the  dictates  of  the  Bond  .?  From  the  very  first  time,  some 
years  ago,  when  the  poison  began  to  be  distilled  into  the  country, 
I  felt  that  it  must  come  to  this — was  England  or  the  Transvaal 
to  be  the  paramount  force  in  South  Africa  ?  In  any  other 
country  such  an  organization  could  not  have  grown,  but  here 
among  a  scattered  population  it  had  insidiously  and  successfully 
worked.  What  could  they  think  of  the  objects  of  the  Bond 
when  they  found  Judge  Reitz  advocating  a  Republic  ot  South 
Africa  under  one  flag,  and  the  Rev.  Du  Toit  spluttering  out  his 
disloyalty.  No  man  who  wishes  well  for  the  British  Govern- 
ment could  have  read  the  leading  articles  of  the  Z//zV  AfrikaaTiy 
the   Express  and  De  Patriot,  expounding   the    Bond   principles. 


APPENDIX  F  283 

without  seeing  the  maintenance  of  law  and  order  under  the 
British  Crown  and  the  object  they  have  in  view  are  absolutely 
different  things.  As  to  the  other  doctrines  of  the  Bond  in 
reference  to  the  restriction  of  commercial  progress,  and  the  non- 
education  of  women,  they  were  errors  of  judgment.  My  quarrel 
with  the  Bond  is  that  it  stirs  up  race  difference.  Its  main  object 
is  to  make  the  South  African  Republic  the  paramount  power  in 
South  Africa.  That  is  the  reason  of  its  hostility  to  John  Brand 
— John  Brand,  the  Africander  of  Africanders  ;  a  true  friend 
to  the  English,  and  one  who  has  governed  his  State  and  is  jealous 
of  all  its  privileges.  He  is  as  much  opposed  to  the  Bond  as  I 
am,  and  the  Bond  is  as  much  opposed  to  him.  Stanch  Burgers 
is  not  a  Bondman,  and  the  Bond  did  all  they  could  to  keep  him 
out.  They  turned  out  Mr.  Luttig,  a  most  excellent  member, 
because  he  would  not  work  with  the  Bond.  As  I  said  before, 
the  only  advantage  derived  from  the  Rooi  Grond  negotiation  is 
that  it  has  brought  us  face  to  face  with  the  actions  of  the  Bond, 
and  it  is  better  to  have  an  open  enemy  than  an  insidious  foe. 

Dr,  Rutherfoord  Harris  on  the  S.'Wie  Subject  in   1900. 

The  third  fact  to  which  I  want  to  draw  your  attention  may  be 
stated  thus — that  British  paramountcy  throughout  South  Africa, 
which,  as  we  have  just  seen,  is  absolutely  necessary  to  our 
retention  of  the  Cape  station  and  for  our  supremacy  at  sea  there, 
is  in  grave  peril  now,  as  the  result  of  a  long-standing  conspiracy. 
I  use  the  word  '  conspiracy  '  deliberately.  I  mean  that  for 
many  years  past,  certainly  ever  since  1881,  after  the  retrogression 
at  Majuba  and  the  formation  of  the  Africander  Bond  by  Mr. 
Hofmeyr,  an  ever-increasing  number  of  the  Dutch  population  of 
South  Africa  have  been  making  ready  for  an  attempt  to  turn  South 
Africa  into  a  united  and  independent  Dutch  State,  in  which  the 
status  of  Britishers  should  be  the  status  of  foreigners,  and  in 
which  Her  Majesty's  Government  should  have  neither  part  nor 
lot.  It  was  a  matter  of  common  knowledge  an  attempt  would 
one  day  be  made  to  republicanize  South  Africa,  and  that  in  the 
interests  of  that  Africander  nation  which  Mr.  Hofmeyr  has 
made  it  his  life-work  to  create.  Sir  Bartle  Frere  was  aware  of 
this  movement,  of  this  conspiracy,  and  in  a  letter  to  Sir  Michael 
Hicks-Beach,  under  date  August  28,  1879,  he  warned  the 
Imperial  Government  of  what  was  afoot.  And  Sir  Alfred 
Milner  did  but  repeat  the  warning  when,  twenty  years  later, 
on  the  <fth  of  May  last,  he  advised  Mr.  Chamberlain  that  a 
*  mischievous  propaganda '  was  in  progress  in  the  Cape  Colony 
'  to  oust  Her  Majesty's  Government  from  their  rightful  position 
in  South  Africa.'      Here  you  have  two  of  the  very  ablest  states- 


284  APPENDICES 

men  who  have  ever  served  the  Crown  in  South  Africa  saying 
precisely  one  and  the  same  thing — '  that  a  disloyal  movement 
was  in  progress  among  the  Dutch  population,  having  for  its 
ultimate  purpose  to  wrest  South  Africa  from  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  British  Crown.'  I  do  not  propose  to-night — it  would  be 
impossible — to  place  before  you  the  whole  of  the  evidence  for 
the  existence  of  this  conspiracy.  Time  is  too  scant,  and  I  do 
not  wish  to  interpose  too  long  between  you  and  our  distinguished 
guest,  yet  I  cannot  leave  this  subject  without  adding  to  the 
testimony  of  Sir  Alfred  Milner  and  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  as  to  what 
was  happening,  the  solemn  warning  of  another  great  Proconsul 
in  South  Africa,  Sir  George  Grey,  as  to  what  must  happen. 
Writing  as  long  ago  as  1858,  shortly  after  the  Orange  Free  State 
and  Transvaal  had  been  unwisely  called  into  being.  Sir  George 
Grey  used  the  following  argument  in  support  of  his  '  policy  of 
remedying  '  what  had  taken  place,  and  what  he  called  the  '  dis- 
memberment' of  Africa.  He  wished  to  remedy  it  by  some  form 
of  federation  !  He  pointed  out  'that,  although  broken  up  into 
separate  States,  the  Dutch  population  throughout  South  Africa 
would  still  remain  essentially  one.'  He  said  '  that  in  any  great 
national  movement  the  Dutch  population  would  not  act  in 
unison.'  And  he  added  '  that  if  in  any  such  movement  the 
Governments  of  the  two  Republics  took  a  different  view  from  that 
of  the  Imperial  Government,  it  would  be  very  doubtful  which  of 
the  two  Governments  the  great  mass  of  the  Dutch  people  would 
obey.'  For  forty  long  years  these  prophetic  words  have  lain 
buried  in  our  Blue  Books,  and,  though  every  year  since  has 
contributed  something  to  fulfil  them  and  to  prove  their  truth,  it 
was  not  until  the  9th  of  October,  1899,  when  President  Kruger 
of  the  Transvaal,  backed  by  President  Steyn  of  the  Orange  Free 
State,  and  backed  by  thousands  of  our  Dutch  subjects  in  the 
Cape  Colony,  flung  his  ultimatum  in  our  teeth,  that  we  began  to 
believe  that  Sir  George  Grey,  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  and  Sir  Alfred 
Milner  were,  after  all,  right  !  On  the  heels  of  the  ultimatum 
came  the  revelation,  in  a  series  of  repulses  to  our  arms,  of  a 
degree  of  readiness  for  war  on  the  part  of  the  Boers  which  only 
long  years  of  planning  and  preparation  could  have  rendered 
possible.  Ask  yourself  the  question,  What  would  have  been 
England's  fate  had  the  Boers  withheld  their  stroke  until  Great 
Britain  should  be  locked  in  conflict  with  one  or  other  of  the 
Great  Powers  ?  Gentlemen,  we  have  to  thank  the  Government 
and  Lord  Salisbury's  magnificent  diplomacy — as  prescient  as  it 
is  patient — that  the  long-planned  endeavour  of  the  Boers  to  throw 
us  out  of  South  Africa  falls  at  a  moment  when  England  is  at  peace 
with  all  the  world. 

I  have  ventured   to  dwell  at  some  little  length  on  the  part 


APPENDIX  F  285 

which  is  being  played  in  the  South  African  drama  by  the  dis- 
loyal section  of  our  Dutch  subjects  because  it  explains  some  of 
the  peculiar  difficulties  which  harass  our  Generals,  as  a  while  ago 
they  harassed  our  diplomatists.  And  there  is  this  other  reason 
for  the  line  I  have  taken,  that  no  settlement  can  hope  to  be  per- 
manently effective  which  omits  to  provide  for  the  fact  that  the 
really  dangerous  toes  to  British  supremacy  are  not  those  of  the 
two  Republics,  but  are  men  outside  the  Republics,  who,  with  the 
lying  phrases  of  loyalty  on  their  lips,  have  long  been  making  com- 
mon cause  with  the  Republics  for  the  end  I  have  described,  viz.,  to 
oust  us  from  South  Africa.  How  this  fact  should  be  provided 
for — what  should  be  the  scope  and  nature  of  the  settlement — it 
would  hardly  be  seemly  here  and  now  to  explain.  Let  us  first 
drive  the  foe  from  our  own  gates,  and  then,  before  we  talk  of 
settlement,  hoist  the  Union  Jack  over  Bloemfontein  and  Pretoria, 
there  for  ever  to  remain. 


APPENDIX  G 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  BIOGRAPHY  OF  THE  LATE 
SIR  BARTLE  FRERE,  BY  JOHN  MARTINEAU 

Letter  from  Madame  Koopmans  de  Wet,  November  i6,  1880, 

REFERRING    TO    ABANDONMENT    OF    SiR    BaRTLE    FrERE. 

And  what  is  to  be  the  end  ot  all  this  now,  and  now  particu- 
larly do  the  Cape  people  miss  //r/r  Governor,  for  now  superior 
qualities  in  everything  are  wanted.  Dear  Sir  Bartle,  you  know 
the  material  we  have  ;  it  is  good,  but  who  is  to  guide  ?  It  is 
plain  to  every  thinking  mind  that  our  position  is  becoming  more 
critical  every  day.  .  .  .  But  with  deep  sorrow  let  me  say, 
England's,  or  rather  Downing  Street's,  treatment  has  not  tightened 
the  bonds  between  the  Mother  Country  and  us.  You  know  we 
have  a  large  circle  of  acquaintances,  and  I  cannot  say  how  taken 
aback  I  sometimes  am  to  hear  their  words.  See,  in  all  former 
wars  there  was  a  moral  support  in  the  thought  England,  our 
England,  is  watching  over  us  ;  it  strengthened  us,  and  kept,  to  a 
certain  measure,  the  savage  in  control.  Now  there  is  but  one 
cry,  'We  will  have  no  imperial  help.'  Why  is  this?  We 
have  lost  confidence  in  a  Government  who  could  play  with  our 
welfare,  and  among  the  many  injuries  done  us,  the  greatest  was 
to  remove  from  among  us  a  ruler  such  as  Your  Excellency  was. 

As  to  the  effect  of  abandonment  of  the  Transvaal  on  the  pros- 
pects of  confederation,  Frere  says,  writing  to  Sir  M.  Hicks- 
Beach  : 

T)ecember  3,  1879. 

To  every  colony  concerned  such  a  step  must  appear  as  a 
confession  of  weakness,  of  infirmity  of  purpose,  and  of  disregard 
for  solemn  pledges  and  obligations  which  would  destroy  all 
respect,  all  wish  to  belong  to  a  Government  which  could  so 
behave. 


APPENDIX  G  287 

Again,  writing  to  the  same  gentleman  on  that  date  : 

When  our  powers  of  enforcing  the  law  and  upholding  the 
authority  of  Government  were  at  the  lowest,  in  April  last  .  .  . 
experienced  men  at  Pretoria  gave  me  through  Colonel  Lanyon 
the  following  estimate  of  the  strength  of  parties  in  the  malcontent 
camp  :  The  educated  and  intelligent  men  of  influence  who 
advocated  the  most  extreme  measures,  or  were  prepared  to 
acquiesce  in  them,  were  reckoned  at  not  more  than  eight.  Three, 
or  perhaps  four,  were  men  of  property  in  the  Transvaal,  the 
rest  foreign  adventurers,  with  no  property  and  little  weight 
beyond  that  due  to  their  skill  as  political  agitators.  Their  un- 
flinching and  uncompromising  followers  in  the  Boer  camp  were 
not  reckoned  at  more  than  eighty.  The  disaffected  waverers 
who,  according  to  circumstances,  would  follow  the  majority 
either  to  acts  of  overt  resistance  to  government  and  lawless 
violence,  or  to  grumble  and  disperse,  'accepting  the  inevitable,' 
were  reckoned  at  about  800  at  the  outside.  The  rest  of  the 
camp,  variously  estimated  at  containing  from  1,600  to  4,000  in 
all,  but  probably  never  exceeding  2,500  present  at  one  time,  were 
men  brought  to  the  camp  by  intimidation,  compulsion,  or 
curiosity,  who  would  not  willingly  resist  the  authority  of  govern- 
ment, and  would,  if  assured  of  protection,  prefer  to  side  with  it. 

Dutch  disafi^ection  (Sir  Bartle  writes,  referring  to  the  Cape 
Colony)  of  a  dangerous  kind  is  confined  to  a  small  clique  of 
Hollanders  and  colonial  Dutch  republicans,  who  have  little 
influence  except  through  a  temporary  alliance  with  English 
humanitarians  and  Radicals. 

Again,  later  : 

These  Dutchmen  arc  slow  to  move,  but  bitter  and  obstinate 
when  roused,  and  apt  to  move  in  an  angry  crowd.  If  any 
number  of  them  join  the  republican  faction  there  will  be  serious 
trouble  in  South  Africa,  and  the  drifting  may  end  by  these 
colonies  drifting  away  from  the  Empire. 

Frere  to  Lanyon,   on   leaving  South  Africa. 

Tell  Pretorius  [the  ex-President]  and  all  sincere  Transvaal 
men  they  have  my  best  wishes  for  their  prosperity,  and  that  thcv 
will  see  in  joining  you,  to  give  good  government  to  the  country, 
the  best  road  to  the  same  independence  as  their  friends  here 
[i.e.,  at  Cape  Town]  have  achieved. 

Frere  to  Lord  Kimberley. 
I  would    most  emphatically   urge  that  an  encouragement  to 


288  APPENDICES 

rebellion  fatal  to  our  supremacy  in  all  the  rest  of  South  Africa, 
would  be  given  by  such  a  step  as  appointing  a  commission  before 
the  Boers,  yielding  either  to  moral  force  or  force  of  arms,  have 
distinctly  submitted  to  our  authority. 

Referring  to  the  suggested  members  of  the  proposed  com- 
mission, he  says  : 

There  are  men  on  the  Colonial  Bench  whom  I  would  have 
regarded  as  excellent  selections  a  few  months  ago,  but  who  would 
now  be  much  mistrusted  by  their  English  fellow  colonists.  [It 
will  be  remembered  Sir  Henry  de  Villiers  was  appointed  a 
member  of  that  commission.] 

Mr.   R.   W.   Murray  to   Sir   B.    Frere,    May  i6,    i88l. 

Ask  your  English  statesmen  (he  writes),  if  in  the  history  of 
the  world  there  was  ever  such  a  cruel  desertion  of  a  dependency 
by  the  parent  State.  How  can  England  hope  for  loyalty  from 
South  Africans  ?  The  moral  of  the  Gladstone  lesson  is  that  you 
may  be  anything  in  South  Africa  but  loyal  Englishmen. 

Colonel  Lanyon  writes. 

Pretoria,  March  29,  188 1. 

Last  night  the  saddest  news  I  ever  received  in  my  life  came 
in  the  shape  of  a  letter  from  Wood.  .  .  .  After  three  Secretaries 
of  State,  three  High  Commissioners,  and  two  Houses  of 
Commons  had  said  that  the  country  should  not  be  given  back, 
it  seems  a  terrible  want  of  good  faith  to  the  loyalists  that  this 
decision  should  have  been  arrived  at.  The  scene  this  morning 
was  a  heart-breaking  one,  the  women,  who  have  behaved 
splendidly  all  through  the  siege,  were  crying  and  wringing  their 
hands  in  their  great  grief ;  the  children  were  hushed  as  if  in  a 
chamber  of  death,  and  the  men  were  completely  bowed  down  in 
their  sorrow — well  they  might,  for  the  news  brought  home 
ruin  to  many  and  great  loss  to  all.  I  am  ashamed  to  walk 
about,  for  I  hear  nothing  but  reproaches  and  utterances  from 
heretofore  loyal  men,  which  cut  one  to  the  very  quick.  How 
I  am  to  tell  the  natives  I  know  not,  for  they  have  trusted  so 
implicitly  to  our  promises  and  assurances.  .  .  .  One  man  who 
has  been  most  loyal  to  us  (an  Englishman)  told  me  to-day, 
'  Thank  God  my  children  are  Africanders,  and  need  not  be 
ashamed  of  their  country.' 

^g*^"=  April  z(^,  1881. 

The  Boers  are  practically  dictators,  and  have  been  ruling  the 
country  in  a  manner  which  is  simply  humiliating  to  Englishmen. 


APPENDIX  G  289 

Active  persecution  is  going  on  everywhere,  and,  consequently, 
all  that  can  are  leaving  the  country.  Thirty  families  have  left 
Pretoria  alone.  B and  M have  left,  having  been  fre- 
quently threatened  because  of  their  having  been  members  of  the 

executive,  and  those  two  poor  fellows,  J and  H ,  arc 

completely  ostracized  for  the  same  reason.  They  arc  both 
ruined  men,  practically  speaking,  and  all  because  they  trusted  to 
England's  assurances  and  good  faith.   .   .   . 

Mr.    Rider  Haggard  writes. 

June  6,  1 881. 

Then  comes  the  case  of  the  loyal  Boers,  men  who  believed 
us  and  fought  for  us  ;  and  are  now,  as  a  reward  for  their  loyalty, 
left  to  the  vengeance  of  their  countrymen,  a  vengeance  that  will 
most  certainly  be  wreaked,  let  the  Royal  Commission  try  to 
temper  it  as  they  will. 

Sir   Bartle   Frere  to   Mr.  J.    Maclean,  on   the  Convention 
OF  Pretoria. 

February  23,  1883. 

Mapoch  and  other  chiefs  to  the  east  and  north-east,  who  had 
been  loyal  to  the  British  rule,  have  been  attacked,  and  great 
numbers  of  their  followers  have  been  slaughtered.  A  large 
'commando,'  said  to  comprise  2,000  burghers  with  two  cannon 
supplied  by  the  Cape  Government,  is  at  present  engaged  in 
crushing  this  tribe,  blowing  up  their  caves  with  dynamite  ;  their 
greatest  offence  is  fidelity  to  the  British  Government.   .  .   . 

To  the  natives  of  the  Transvaal  and  its  neighbourhood  the 
surrender  by  the  British  Government  has  brought  loss  of  all 
security  for  liberty,  life,  or  property. 

Address  to  Frere   on    leaving    from    the   Natives  of   Mount 

Cake. 

Our  hearts  are  very  bitter  this  day.  Wc  hear  that  the  r)uecn 
calls  you  to  England.  We  have  not  heard  that  you  are  sick, 
then  why  have  you  to  leave  us .-'  .  .  .  By  you  we  now  have 
peace.  We  sleep  now  without  fear.  Old  men  tell  us  of  a  good 
Governor  Durban  (Sir  Benjamin  D'Urban)  who  had  to  leave 
before  his  good  works  became  law,  but  red  coals  were  under  the 
ashes  which  he  left.  Words  of  wicked  men,  when  he  left,  like 
the  wind  blew  up  the  fire,  and  the  country  was  again  in  war. 
So  also  Sir  George   Grey,  a  good  Governor,  good  to   tie  up   the 

19 


290  APPENDICES 

liands  of  bad  men,  good  to  plant  schools,  good  to  feed  the 
hungry,  good  to  have  mercy  and  feed  the  heathen  when  dying 
from  hunger.  He  also  had  to  leave  us.  We  do  not  understand 
this.  But  Your  Excellency  is  not  to  leave  us.  Natal  has  now 
peace  by  you,  because  God  and  the  Queen  sent  you.  Do  not 
leave  us.  Surely  it  is  not  the  way  of  the  Queen  to  leave  her 
children  here  unprotected  until  peace  is  everywhere.  .  .  .  We 
shall  ever  pray  for  you  as  well  as  for  the  Queen.  These  are  our 
words  to  our  good  Governor,  though  he  turns  his  back  on  us. 

Mr.  Martineau's  Description  of  the  Last  Farewell  to   Sir 
Bartle  Frere. 

For  intensity  of  feeling  and  unanimity  it  would  be  hard  in 
our  time  to  find  a  parallel  to  this  demonstration  of  enthusiasm 
for  a  public  servant.  The  Capetown  people  are  by  race  and 
habit  the  reverse  of  demonstrative  ;  yet  it  was  noticed  that  day, 
as  it  had  been  noticed  when  Frere  left  Sattara  thirty  years 
before — a  sight  not  uncommon  two  or  three  centuries  ago,  but 
almost  unknown  among  men  of  English  or  German  race  in  our 
day — that  men  looking  on  were  unable  to  restrain  their  tears.  At 
Sattara  and  in  Sind  the  regret  at  losing  him  was  softened  by  the 
knowledge  that  his  departure  was  due  to  a  recognition  of  his 
merit,  that  he  was  being  promoted  in  a  service  in  which  his  in- 
fluence might  some  day  extend  with  heightened  power  to  the 
country  he  was  leaving.  It  was  far  otherwise  when  he  left  the 
Cape.  On  that  occasion  the  regret  of  the  colonists  was  mingled 
with  indignation,  and  embittered  with  a  sense  of  wrong. 


APPENDIX   H. 

CHIEF  JUSTICE  KOTZ^'S  REPLY  TO  MR.KRUGER'S 
ASSERTIONS. 

See  my  note  at  end  of  this  memo. 

(Signed)  Paul  Mare. 

Memorandum. 

Saturday,  jth  September,  1895. 

This  afternoon,  at  5  o'clock,  I  had,  together  with  Messrs. 
P.  W.  T.  Bell,  E.  F.  Bourke,  and  Dr.  Engelenburg  (members  of 
the  Celliers  Memorial  Committee),  an  interview  with  the  State 
President  at  His  Honour's  house.  When  this  interview  was 
over  and  we  had  bid  the  President  good-bye.  His  Honour  said, 
'  Judge,  I  wish  to  speak  to  you  privately  for  a  few  moments.' 
The  other  gentlemen  then  left  the  room  and  I  remained  behind, 
when  the  following  took  place  between  me  and  the  State 
President.  I  have  thought  it  necessary,  immediately  upon 
reaching  my  house,  to  place  in  writing  the  following  memorandum 
or  notes,  which  as  nearly  as  possible  contain  the  very  words  of 
our  conversation  : 

President  :  Look,  I  wish  to  speak  to  you  a  little  about  the 
Volksraad  resolution  concerning  the  proclamation  and  lottery  of 
ground.  I  don't  wish  to  enter  into  the  case  itself,  but  I  am  told 
that  they  have,  after  lots  had  been  drawn  for  the  ground,  again 
proceeded  to  peg  over  the  ground,  and  that  they  will  again  bring 
the  matter  before  the  Court.  Now,  how  can  this  happen,  tor 
the  law  says  a  Volksraad  resolution  is  law,  and  if  I  have  published 
it  then  everyone  must  respect  it  as  law.  What  is  now  your  view 
on  the  subject  ? 

Chief  Justice  :  I  do  not  know  anything  of  the  particulars  of 
the  case,  and  of  what  has  taken  place  on  the  ground,  with  regard 
to  the  lottery  or  subsequently,  I  can  in  no  event  speak  about  that, 

1 9 — 2 


292  APPENDICES 

for  if  the  case  should  come  on  there  is  but  one  course  open  to 
the  Court,  and  that  is  to  enforce  the  law. 

President  :  Yes,  I  know,  and  therefore  I  speak  to  you  about 
it  ;  not  upon  the  facts,  for  possibly  my  information  may  not  be 
quite  correct,  but  on  the  resolution  of  the  Volksraad.  What  has 
happened  at  the  lottery,  and  how  the  people  came  up  there  in 
numbers  and  rushed  each  other,  proves  that  I  could  not  do 
otherwise  than  withdraw  the  proclamation,  or  murder  and 
manslaughter  would  have  occurred  in  the  land.  But  never 
mind  that  for  the  present.  What  I  wish  to  speak  to  you  about 
is  that  the  Court  must  respect  the  Volksraad  resolution.  I  hear 
you  stated  in  the  Hess  case  that  you  had  changed  your  opinion  as 
expressed  in  the  case  of  Doms,  and  that  the  Court  is  not  bound 
by  a  resolution  of  the  Volksraad.  How  can  this  be  ?  The  law 
clearly  says  that  all  laws  and  resolutions,  published  by  me,  are  of 
force,  and  cannot  be  questioned  ;  only  the  people  can  in  the 
following  year  petition  against  these,  and  then  the  Volksraad  can 
decide  whether  it  will  alter  the  resolution.  You  must  now  tell 
me  that  you  also  think  that  this  is  so,  and  strengthen  the  bond 
of  brotherhood,  so  that  no  conflict  may  arise,  otherwise  the 
members  and  the  people  will  rise  against  the  Court,  and  I  will 
be  in  a  difficult  position.  The  country  may  get  into  great 
difficulty,  rebellion  may  be  occasioned,  and  you  must  set  my  mind 
at  ease.      Now  tell  me  what  you  do  think  ? 

Chief  Justice  :  I  did  not  say  in  the  Hess  case  that  a  resolution 
of  the  Volksraad  cannot,  under  any  circumstances,  have  the  force 
of  law.  This  entirely  depends  upon  the  circumstances.  I  said 
that  I  had  altered  the  opinion  expressed  by  me  in  the  McCorkin- 
dale  case  in  certain  respects.  Everything  proceeds  from  the 
people.  A  Court  must  inquire  whether  a  given  law  be  indeed 
law,  and  whether  a  law  or  a  resolution  is  in  conformity  with  the 
Grondwet. 

President  :  Oh  no.  Now  you  speak  too  indistinctly.  How 
can  you  say  so  ?  The  Volksraad  is  the  highest  authority,  and 
everyone  must  respect  the  resolutions  and  laws  of  the  Volksraad, 
as  published,  and  submit  thereto  ;  otherwise  there  will  be  discord 
and  conflict.  You  may  be  sure  of  that,  and  I  can  take  an  oath 
to  that  effect,  that  if  the  Court  does  not  respect  the  Volksraad 
resolution,  then  there  will  be  trouble.  The  Volksraad  will  rise 
up  against  the  Court.  Look,  when  the  other  day  the  case  for 
an  interdict  came  on,  several  of  the  Volksraad  members  told  me 
the  Court  would  reject  the  resolution,  and  I  defended  the  Court, 
and  said  the  Judges  would  act  according  to  the  law  and  do  justice, 
and  not  reject  the  resolution.  Now,  you  see,  I  always  stand  up 
for  my  Judges,  but  if  you  {i.e.,  the  Judges)  reject  the  resolution 
of  the  Volksraad,  then  I  fear  for  the  consequences.      I  will  then 


APPENDIX  H  293 

be  obliged  to  suspend  you.  (Chief  Justice  smiling.)  Yes,  you 
laugh  over  it.  It  is  a  serious  matter.  A  conflict  will  surely 
happen,  which  will  mean  discord  and  danger  to  the  State.  How 
will  I  get  the  people  satisfied  again  ? 

Chief  Justice  :  I  smile  because  President  speaks  of  suspension. 
A  conflict  between  the  Volksraad  and  Court  is  certainly  a  serious 
matter.  I  do  not  think  lightly  of  the  consequences  resulting 
therefrom,  and  I  do  not  fear  it.  The  Court  never  acts  hurriedly 
or  precipitately.  The  Court  will  do  its  duty  and  maintain  the 
Grondwet  and  other  laws.  Why  should  this  cause  discord.  The 
people  are  too  sensible  for  that. 

President  :  Now,  yes  ;  but  set  my  mind  at  case  that  you 
Judges  will  respect  the  resolution  of  the  Volksraad.  You  can  do 
nothing  else,  for  you,  too,  stand  under  your  oaths.  Is,  then,  a 
resolution  of  the  Volksraad,  the  highest  authority,  not  binding 
on  everyone  : 

Chief  Justice  :  I  can  say  no  more  than  that  a  law  properly 
passed,  and  a  resolution  taken  according  to  law,  may  be  of  force 
as  far  as  it  goes. 

President  :  But  how  must  I  now  understand  you  ? 

Chief  Justice  :  Say,  for  instance,  that  eleven  members  of  the 
Volksraad  pass  a  resolution,  while  the  law  prescribes  that  twelve 
members  form  a  quorum,  now  will  such  a  law  or  resolution  have 
to  be  respected  .?     Certainly  not. 

President  :  But  in  that  case  I  would  not  publish  such  a  law  or 
resolution. 

Chief  Justice  :  Yes,  but  suppose  that  after  all  you  do  publish 
it .?  Or,  suppose  the  Volksraad,  without  any  inquiry,  takes  a 
summary  resolution  to  dismiss  you  from  office  } 

President  :  No,  no.  You  know  this  is  not  what  I  mean.  I 
merely  want  the  Court  to  recognise  and  respect  a  resolution 
taken  in  the  usual  way  by  the  Volksraad.  The  resolution  ot 
which  I  am  speaking  is  also  as  the  First  Volksraad  wishes  to  have 
it.  Look,  there  can  be  no  doubt,  and  you  must  do  your  best  so 
as  to  regulate  matters  that  no  conflict  and  disorder  can  arise. 
This  can  alone  be  done  by  acknowledging  the  resolution  and 
obeying  the  voice  of  the  Volksraad,  which  is  the  highest  power. 

Chief  Justice  :  I  cannot  say  anything  else  than  that  the 
Judges  will  act  carefully  according  to  the  laws  of  the  land.  The 
Judges  dare  not  do  anything  else. 

President  (rising)  :  Now,  yes.  I  trust  you  will  think  well 
over  what  we  have  here  been  talking  about  privately  with  each 
other. 

This  terminated  our  conversation,  and  I  left  the  President. 
On  coming  outside  I  found  Messrs.  Bell,  Bourke,  and  Engelburg 


294  APPENDICES 

at  the  street  gate  waiting  for  me.      The  conversation   between 
me  and  the  President  lasted  from  about  eight  to  ten  minutes. 

(Signed)  J.  G.  Kotze. 

This  memorandum  was  shown  me  in  September,  1895,  by 
Chief  Justice  Kotze,  when  I  was  chairman  of  the  Grondwet 
Revision  Commission  of  the  First  Volksraad,  whereupon  I  also 
read  the  same. 

(Signed)  Paul  Mare. 

Certified  a  true  copy  of  the  original  as  read  and  compared  by 
me. 

(Signed)  Fred  J.  Lunnon, 

Notary  Public. 


APPENDIX  I 

THE  JUDICIAL  CRISIS  IN  THE  TRANSVAAL 

'Transvaal  Advertiser,'   March    i  5th,    1897. 

While  there  is  yet  time,  we  should  fail  in  our  duty  to  the  people 
of  this  Republic  if  we  did  not  urge  upon  the  Government  the 
propriety  and  wisdom  of  reconsidering  the  vitally  important 
subject  of  the  position  assumed  towards  the  judges  of  the  High 
Court.  Efforts  have  been  unceasingly  made  for  some  time  past 
to  obscure  the  issues  in  the  case,  and  to  impress  upon  the  ignorant 
and  easily-led  burghers  of  this  Republic  that  it  was  necessary  to 
restrain  the  judges  of  the  High  Court  in  the  performance  of 
those  duties  which  are  imposed  upon  them  by  virtue  of  their 
office.  Under  any  circumstances,  the  time  has  arrived  when  it 
is  necessary,  once  for  all,  to  answer  the  misleading  statements 
which  have  been  put  forth  in  defence  of  the  action  of  the 
Government,  notably,  by  the  Folksstem,  the  Press,  the  Standard 
and  Diggers^  News  here,  and  0ns  Land  in  the  Cape  Colony. 
The  object  of  the  Government  organs  has  been  to  obscure  the 
nature  of  the  attack  upon  the  High  Court  by  the  adoption  of 
tactics  which  every  right-minded  man  must  know  are  meant  to 
cover  the  misdeeds  of  the  Government  and  Legislature.  The 
Chief  Justice  has  been  assailed  upon  the  matter  of  the  '  Brown  ' 
judgment,  both  as  to  its  legal  soundness  and  to  the  time  and  cir- 
cumstances under  which  it  was  pronounced.  It  has  been  made 
to  appear  that  it  was  delivered  for  a  personal  and  political  pur- 
pose, and  under  that  guise  the  important  constitutional  questions 
raised  by  it  have  been  discreetly  kept  in  the  background.  It  is 
not  necessary  to  refute  this  attempt  to  lower  the  status  of  the 
Chief  Justice  and  his  colleagues,  as  it  is  abundantly  clear  that  it 
they  had  acted  in  the  mode  alleged,  they  would  have  done  their 
best  to  defeat  their  own  ends.  It  is  not  our  purpose,  however, 
to  call  attention  to  side  issues  in  this  important  matter,  but  to 
state  as  simply  and  clearly  as  we  can  the   tacts  ot  the  case  and 


296  APPENDICES 

tlicir  bearing  upon  the  future  of  the  Republic.  In  the  '  Brown  ' 
judgment  the  Court  laid  down  the  principle  of  its  right  to  test 
laws  made  by  the  Volksraad  by  a  reference  to  the  written  con- 
stitution of  the  country.  The  legal  advisers  of  the  President, 
Messrs.  Coster  and  Leyds,  doubtless  finding  that  the  establish- 
ment of  such  a  principle  would  go  far  to  make  the  position 
assured  by  the  President  and  his  obedient  Legislature  untenable, 
probably  forced  upon  his  Honour  the  necessity  for  direct  legis- 
lation upon  the  matter.  The  Law  No.  i,  1897,  was  consequently 
brought  in,  discussed  in  secret  session,  and  passed  through  the 
Volksraad  in  the  shortest  possible  time,  viz.,  three  days.  That 
this  action  of  the  Government  and  the  I,egislature  was  ill-advised 
and  dangerous  to  the  people  of  this  Republic,  is  shown  by  the 
universal  condemnation  which  it  has  met,  not  only  by  the  inde- 
pendent press  of  South  Africa,  but  also  of  Europe,  both  France 
and  Germany  having  joined  in  the  denunciation  of  the  object  of 
the  so-called  law. 

It  cannot  too  often  be  impressed  upon  the  public  that  for  the 
present  the  soundness  or  unsoundness  of  the  'Brown'  judgment 
has  nothing  to  do  with  the  present  position  of  aiFairs.  As  a 
civilized  nation,  and,  as  is  boasted,  an  independent  State,  the 
Transvaal  is  bound  to  respect  the  judgment  of  its  own  High 
Court.  Should  it  be  considered  by  the  Government  or  the 
Legislature  that  the  law  or  constitution,  as  expounded  and  inter- 
preted by  its  own  High  Court  in  any  particular  case,  are  found 
detrimental  to  the  interests  of  the  State,  they  are  within  their 
right,  the  one  to  propose  and  the  other  to  adopt  measures  in  a 
legal  and  constitutional  method,  for  bringing  about  a  change 
either  in  the  law  or  the  constitution.  Listead,  however,  of 
adopting  this  safe  course,  one  in  which  the  judges  would  probably 
have  been  willing,  as  well  as  competent,  to  give  the  benefit  of 
their  advice,  a  drastic  measure  was  secretly  drafted,  considered, 
and  suddenly  placed  before  the  Volksraad,  and  rushed  through 
its  stages  in  the  shortest  space  of  time.  The  plea  of  urgency 
was  alleged  in  explanation  of  this  precipitate  action,  as,  accord- 
ing to  the  President,  the  newly  proposed  law  could  not  brook 
an  hour's  delay.  Under  this  guise  of  necessity  a  fatal  step  has 
been  taken  which  has  aggravated  the  evil,  and  beyond  question 
has  endangered  the  rights,  liberties,  and  lives  of  every  inhabitant 
in  this  State.  This  was  done  while  there  was  yet  time  to 
recede,  and  against  the  solemn  and  unanimous  advice  and 
warnings  of  the  judges  that  there  exists  at  present  no  real  danger 
and  no  necessity  for  taking  immediate  steps.  The  wise  counsels 
of  the  judges  against  hasty  legislation,  and  their  assurance  that 
the  matter  could  be  calmly  and  satisfactorily  settled  in  the 
ensuing   May  session   of  the  Volksraad  were   ignored,   and  the 


APPENDIX   I  297 

letter  of  the  fi\e  judges  was  not  even  officially  placed  before  the 
\'olksraad,  as  they  had  requested.  Just  as  the  Volksraad  was 
rushed,  a  similar  attempt  was  made  to  rush  the  judges,  who 
wisely  refused  to  be  a  party  to  hasty  legislation,  which  had  for 
its  aim  the  complete  removal  of  the  stability  and  independence 
of  the  judiciary.  It  is  this  very  measure,  proposed  by  the 
President  and  his  advisers,  and  sanctioned  by  the  Volksraad, 
that  forms  the  real  ground  for  all  the  uncertainty  and  anxiety 
which  at  present  exist.  It  is  this  fatal  step,  and  not  the 'Brown' 
judgment,  which  has  agitated  men's  minds  to  their  very  depths, 
and  both  in  and  out  of  South  Africa  has  shaken  confidence  in 
the  Transvaal  as  a  civilized  State.  It  is  not  difficult  to  account 
for  this  state  of  things.  Under  the  plea  of  necessity,  and  under 
the  plea  of  uncertainty,  which  has  been  used  as  a  kind  of 
Government  scarecrow,  a  state  of  chaos  and  confusion  has  been 
created.  Instead  of  calmly  and  with  dignity  setting  to  work  to 
remove  what  might  be  considered  objectionable  in  a  legal  and 
constitutional  way,  a  measure  is  adopted  which  virtually  amounts 
to  an  attack  both  on  the  judges  individually  and  on  the  inde- 
pendence of  their  high  office.  The  Volksraad,  contrary  to  the 
Constitution  or  Grondwct,  practically  changes  itself  into  a 
Supreme  Court  of  Appeal,  and  declares  that  the  judges  in  the 
'Brown'  judgment — a  judgment  which  by  the  law  and  Con- 
stitution of  the  land  is  final,  and  from  which  there  is  no  appeal 
— have  wrongly  declared  the  law.  Here  the  Volksraad  clearly 
went  beyond  its  own  province  and  powers.  It  may  just  as 
logically  reverse  the  'Brown'  judgment.  It  is  perfectly  clear 
that  until  the  Grondwct  has  been  duly  amended,  the  interpreta- 
tion of  the  Grondwet  by  the  High  Court  must  be  accepted  by 
every  person  and  every  department  of  State  in  the  country. 
The  Volksraad  may,  in  the  exercise  of  its  legislative  functions, 
interpret  the  Constitution  for  itself,  but  it  cannot  interpret  the 
Constitution  so  as  to  bind  the  Court.  It  is  the  exclusive  right 
and  duty  of  the  High  Court  to  interpret  the  Grondwet  or  Con- 
stitution for  itself  whenever,  in  any  given  case  before  it,  it 
becomes  necessary  so  to  do.  Again,  the  new  measure — we  can- 
not consider  it  law — is  a  distinct  breach  and  violation  of  the 
numerous  laws  which  guarantee  to  the  members  of  the  Bench 
their  office  for  life.  It  is  also  a  distinct  breach  and  violation  of 
the  law  which  safeguards  the  judges  against  any  interference  on 
the  part  oi'  the  Executive  or  Legislature,  and  which  provides 
that  the  dismissal  of  a  judge  can  only  take  place  after  a  proper 
charge  brought  before,  and  duly  investigated  by,  a  specially- 
constituted  tribunal,  and  after  its  verdict  of  guilty,  and  none 
other.  All  these  constitutional  and  necessary  guarantees  have 
been  blown   to  the  winds,  and  all  these  safeguards   have   been 


298  APPENDICES 

ruthlessly  destroyed.  It  is,  therefore,  nothing  but  natural  that 
men  should  fear  and  tremble,  and  ask  themselves  the  question — 
What  next?  The  spectacle  of  independent  judges  being 
summarily  dismissed  at  the  dictation  of  the  President,  in  viola- 
tion of  their  appointment  for  life,  and  cast  adrift,  converts  the 
Republic  into  an  uncivilized  and  barbarous  country.  It  is  an  act 
of  injustice  and  unrighteousness  which  might  be  expected  from 
a  despot,  but  which  will  inevitably  bring  appropriate  punishment 
upon  a  country  which  boasts  of  its  civilization  and  Christianity. 
It  is  this  which  has  made  the  capitalist  more  than  uneasy  about 
his  investments  in  properties  of  all  descriptions.  It  is  this  that 
has  created  distrust  in  the  mind  of  the  poor  and  industrious  man 
who  has  invested  his  modest  savings  in  some  form  or  other  in 
the  country,  and  who  no  longer  feels  safe  as  to  the  security  of 
such  investment.  The  argument  advanced  by  one  of  our  local 
contemporaries,  that  the  recent  action  of  the  Government  and 
Volksraad  is  to  be  justified  because  many  rights  on  the  gold-fields 
are  secured  by  mere  besluite?i,  or  resolutions  of  the  Volksraad,  is 
thus  seen  to  be  a  hollow  sham.  Men  naturally  inquire — when 
the  independent  and  highest  judges  of  the  land  are  treated  in 
this  summary,  illegal,  and  drastic  manner  by  the  simple  brushing 
away  of  the  laws  which  guarantee  their  position  for  life,  and 
protect  them  against  improper  interference  and  dismissal — of 
what  account  are  we  and  our  belongings — we,  who  are  simple 
burghers  or  unenfranchised  inhabitants  of  the  land  ?  It  is  a 
mockery  to  tell  us  that,  in  order  to  secure  our  rights,  the  rights 
of  the  judges  of  the  land,  clearly  and  solemnly  guaranteed,  must 
be  swept  away  ;  rights  and  guarantees,  moreover,  established 
quite  as  much  for  the  protection  of  the  public  and  the  gold 
industry  as  for  the  judges  themselves.  The  public  have  a  right 
to  insist  on  the  dignified,  impartial,  and  independent  administra- 
tion of  justice.  To  deprive  the  people  of  this  right  is  a  palpable 
invasion  of  their  liberties.  It  is  a  natural  inference  that  what 
has  happened  to  the  judges  to-day  may  happen  to  the  burgher 
to-morrow.  This  is  the  real  issue  and  the  true  position  of  the 
question.  It  is  that  which  has  created  the  terrible  tension.  It 
is  that  which  makes  men  marvel  at  the  astoundingly  dangerous 
feats  performed  recently  by  President  Kruger.  It  is  not  to  be 
forgotten  that  he  has  boasted  frequently  of  late  that  the  principles 
of  the  Republic  and  of  himself  were  that  '  Right  is  might,'  and 
not  the  converse,  '  Might  is  right.' 

We  may  just  refer  to  a  statement  which  has  been  much  made 
of  by  the  apologists  for  the  Government,  viz.,  that  the  honoured 
Chief  Justice  of  the  Cape  Colony  'is  heartily  at  one'  with  the 
attitude  adopted  by  the  President  and  his  legal  advisers  with 
regard  to  the  judges.      It  is  scarcely  probable  that  so  eminent 


APPENDIX  I  299 

and  experienced  a  jurist  would  give  such  an  opinion,  and  we 
prefer  to  wait  until  Chief  Justice  de  Villiers  himself  authorizes 
such  a  declaration.  In  the  meantime  we  must  protest  against 
the  attempt  to  identify  that  gentlemen  with  the  sentiments  of 
Messrs.  Coster  and  Leyds  in  the  development  of  this  miserable 
and  fatal  business.  The  Government  have  sown  the  wind,  and 
of  a  certainty  will  reap  the  whirlwind,  and  no  man  possessing  a 
sense  of  responsibility  can  dare  approve  of  the  attack  made  upon 
the  independence  of  the  judges  in  the  exercise  of  their  judicial 
functions.  A  measure  which  reduces  the  judges  to  the  level  of 
mere  servants  of  the  President,  who  shall  have  the  right  at  any 
time  to  interpellate  them  on  pain  of  instant  dismissal,  even  when 
a  case  may  be  pending  against  the  Government,  endangers  the 
liberty  of  the  citizen  and  the  State.  This,  we  repeat,  is  the 
issue  ;  and  it  behoves  all  men  who  have  interests  in  this  country, 
or  wish  well  to  the  Republic,  to  avoid  being  led  away  by  the 
shallow  defences  made  by  the  apologists  of  the  Government  tor 
an  attack  upon  the  sacred  liberties  of  the  people. 


APPENDIX  J 

EXTRACT  FROM  THE  '  TRANSVAAL  ADVERTISER' 
OF  DECEMBER  31,   1898 

It  has  been  asserted  that  under  certain  circumstances  'old  men 
see  visions,  and  young  men  dream  dreams.'  It  may  be  permitted 
to  us  who  are  old,  to  see  the  vision  of  a  regenerated  Transvaal 
when  the  present  regime  has  been  swept  away,  and  its  cor- 
ruptions, hypocrisies,  and  prostitution  of  the  powers  with  which 
it  has  been  entrusted  shall  be  regarded  as  a  hideous  nightmare. 
Before  the  close  of  the  present  century  we  believe  that  the  reign 
of  terror  which  has  been  established  by  repressive  laws  will 
have  given  place  to  freedom,  when  justice  shall  not  be  polluted 
at  its  source,  when  the  rights  of  all  shall  be  acknowledged,  and 
peace  and  contentment  following  upon  good  government  shall 
prevail.  It  is  impossible  that  the  country  should  enter  upon  a 
new  century  clad  in  the  mantle  of  ignorance,  prejudice  and 
hatred  of  all  that  is  good  and  true  and  noble  in  sentiment  and 
action.  When  that  time  arrives  the  work  in  which  the  Trans- 
vaal Advertiser  has  been  engaged  for  the  past  sixteen  years  will 
have  been  accomplished.  However  deeply  its  principles  may 
have  been  entombed  by  the  mighty  powers  of  selfishness, 
hypocrisy  and  sordid  avarice,  its  epitaph  shall  be  '  Resurgam.' 

J.     SCOBLE. 


APPENDIX  K 

SIR  BARTLE  FRERE  AND  THE  NOMINEE  LEGISLA- 
TURE OF  THE  TRANSVAAL. 

In  April,  1879,  the  then  Administrator  at  Pretoria,  Colonel 
Lanyon,  wrote  a  private  note  to  Mr.  Justice  Kotzc,  asking  him 
to  come  round  to  Government  House,  as  Sir  Bartle  Frerc  was 
anxious  to  see  him.  On  arriving  at  Government  House  Mr. 
Kotze  was  shown  a  draft  Constitution  providing  for  a  Legisla- 
tive Assembly,  consisting  of  the  members  of  the  Executive,  and 
of  an  equal  number  of  nominee  members.  On  being  asked  his 
views  on  the  draft  Constitution  the  judge  condemned  it  upon 
the  twofold  ground,  that  first,  it  would  not  suit  the  people  of 
the  country,  who  had  always  been  in  the  habit  of  electing  their 
own  representatives  to  the  Legislature  (Volksraad) ;  and  secondly, 
it  was  contrary  to  the  terms  of  the  Annexation  Proclamation, 
which  had  led  the  public  to  expect  a  representative  Legislature. 
A  departure  from  the  proclamation  in  this  respect  was  calculated 
to  cause  opposition  to  the  Government  by  those  who  had  sup- 
ported the  Annexation  at  the  time.  The  result  was,  that  this 
Constitution  was  not  immediately  put  into  practice,  it  being  only 
promulgated  in  the  Gazette  early  in  the  following  year  1880, 
and,  as  predicted,  caused  widespread  disaffection  amongst  all 
classes. 


APPENDIX  L. 

DEVASTATED  NATAL. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  know  how  to  begin  a  letter  when 
placed  in  the  position  that  we  Loyalists  occupy  in  Natal,  and, 
I  may  as  well  say,  the  whole  of  South  Africa.  To  say  that  we 
have  been  ruined  is  practically  nothing.  The  circumstances  of 
each  individual  case  are  far  more  heartrending  than  the  total 
result.  Not  only  does  there  seem  to  be  very  little  sympathy  in 
the  hearts  of  those  who  hold  the  high  ofhces  in  this  country  and 
at  home,  but,  further,  the  military  authorities  both  here  and  at 
the  Cape  have  peculiar  methods  of  their  own  in  dealing  with 
the  several  matters  entrusted  to  them.  We  who  are  loyal  are 
expected  to  sit  down  and  be  content,  although  we  have  no 
homes,  very  little  food,  less  clothing,  and  no  money. 

Some  details  may  be  of  interest.  Imagine  yourself  in  a 
newly-built  house,  with  every  room  neatly  and  comfortably 
furnished,  your  business  bringing  in  sufficient  to  enable  you  to 
live  without  anxiety.  Then  try,  if  it  be  possible,  to  imagine 
yourself  and  family  flying  for  your  life  with  less  than  an  hour's 
notice,  leaving  everything  and  escaping  with  only  the  clothes 
you  stand  upright  in,  to  tramp  sixty  miles  through  a  country 
such  as  this  without  the  slightest  shelter,  and  with  only  what 
food  could  be  placed  in  your  pockets  before  starting.  Hurrying 
through  the  terrible  heat  of  the  day,  walking  through  rivers,  and 
lying  on  the  grass  for  a  bed,  with  a  heavy  rain  descending  to  add 
to  its  discomfort,  we  finally  arrive  at  a  town  where  we  are  allowed 
a  shilling  each  adult  per  day  to  provide  for  all  our  wants. 

On  returning  to  our  homes,  we  find  that  after  the  semi-savage 
Boer  has  occupied  them  for  a  time  the  best  of  our  furniture  has 
been  taken  into  the  Transvaal,  even  by  some  of  the  members  of 
the  First  Raad — that  is  to  say,  the  Boers'  House  of  Lords. 
Other  furniture  has  been  taken  by  the  disloyal  Natal  Boer,  and 
what  could  not  be  taken  has  been  destroyed  for  fire  purposes. 
To  add  to  our  distress  and  disgust,  sick    horses  or  cattle   have 


APPENDIX  L  303 

been  taken  into  our  houses  and  starved  to  death,  so  that  they 
should  die  inside,  and  the  terrible  remains  of  these  poor  animals 
have  floated  about  our  floors,  so  that  the  rooms  cannot  again  be 
used  without  new  woodwork.  Not  only  so,  but  the  wretches 
have  violated  all  decency  in  every  room,  so  much  so  that  it  will 
be  sickening  ever  to  remember  it.  The  walls  have  been 
plastered  with  the  same  filth  as  lies  upon  the  floors.  The 
window-sashes  are  smashed,  doors  broken  down  and  burnt,  ceil- 
ings destroyed,  and  sometimes  floors  broken  up  to  provide  fuel 
for  the  fire.  The  kitchen  range  is  smashed,  the  garden  devas- 
tated, choice  fruit-trees,  grape  vines,  etc.,  chopped  down,  and 
fences  destroyed.  The  wreckage  is  beyond  description,  and  all 
this  by  the  saintly  Boer,  so  much  worshipped  by  the  ignorant  in 
our  own  country. 

The  Question  of  Compensation. 

Now,  turning  to  the  high  ofiicials,  we  hear  something  of  com- 
pensation. Someone  in  the  House  of  Commons  says  full  com- 
pensation must  be  exacted  ;  another  says  the  Loyalists  must  be 
compensated  ;  and  another  says  there  are  great  difficulties  in  this 
question  of  compensation  ;  but  I  have  not  heard  anyone  say, 
'  What  are  these  loyal  people  doing  to  obtain  food  ?  Can't  we 
give  them  immediate  help  ?'  People  at  home  cannot  realize 
what  misery  we  have  to  endure.  This  is  our  position  to-day  : 
The  Mansion  House  Fund  allows  each  woman  one  shilling  per 
day,  each  child  sixpence  per  day,  with  one  or  two  rooms,  accord- 
ing to  the  size  of  family.  The  men  get  nothing,  save  one  or 
two  free  meals  per  day.  There  being  so  many  men  from  up- 
country,  the  Transvaal  and  Free  State,  etc.,  it  is  impossible  to 
get  work  at  any  price,  so  we  live  in  a  state  of  semi-starvation, 
and  get  what  old  clothes  we  can  to  cover  our  nakedness.  While 
we  are  enduring  this  the  Home  Government  says,  *  You  shall  be 
compensated'  ;  but  we  say,  '  How  shall  we  exist  until  that  time 
comes  ?'  I  know  men  whose  income  was  nearly  one  hundred  a 
month  now  living  on  borrowed  money  ;  but  it  is  not  all  of  us 
who  can  raise  money  on  our  property,  considering  that  it  is  in 
the  hands  of  the  Boers,  and  may  be  completely  destroyed.  How 
the  up-country  towns  are  going  to  start  again  I  do  nor  know, 
unless  the  Home  Government  come  to  our  rescue  at  once.  So 
far  we  have  suffered  and  paid  dearly  for  our  loyalty,  while  the 
rebel  has  grown  rich  and  fat  before  our  eyes. 

Clemency   for   Rebels. 

Now  comes  the  third  point  concerning  the  military.  Their 
doings  with  the  rebels  and  others  simply  confound  us.  The 
rebels  are  treated  with  the  utmost  consideration  ;  it  curdles  our 


304  APPENDICES 

blood  to  sec  this,  for  we  who  live  here  know  what  it  means. 
The  treatment  meted  out  to  these  vile  creatures  is  unrighteous 
and  unjust,  and  will  be  the  cause  of  bloodshed  after  the  war  is 
over.  The  military  authorities,  as  you  have  doubtless  seen, 
accept  the  surrender  of  men  anywhere  without  their  arms  or 
ammunition,  which  they  have  buried  in  some  secret  place,  and 
these  men  are  allowed  to  return  home  even  without  a  cross 
word  to  take  up  their  arms  at  a  time  that  will  suit  them.  On 
other  occasions  they  are  allowed  to  surrender  with  the  oldest 
rubbish  in  the  shape  of  arms  that  can  be  scraped  together,  while 
their  Mausers  are  at  home.  Can  you  wonder,  then,  that  wc 
who  are  to  live  here  when  the  military  are  gone  are  disgusted 
at  their  ignorance  or  weakness .''  Further,  as  regards  the  Boers 
who  have  surrendered,  they  will  every  one  of  them  take  up  arms 
again  when  Roberts  and  Buller  have  got  further  up-country. 
It  is  good  policy  for  a  lot  of  them  to  stay  behind  ;  but  our 
Generals  don't  know  the  Boer,  and  will  not  be  told. 

The  Penalty  of  Loyalty. 

It  makes  our  blood  boil  to  see  some  men  in  our  House  of 
Commons  continually  asking  of  the  welfare  of  the  Boer  prisoners, 
but  very  seldom  do  we  see  much  said  concerning  our  prisoners 
at  Pretoria.  You  who  live  at  home  do  not  know  and  feel  as  we 
do.  You  have  only  newspaper  reports  to  read,  and  different 
statements  made  in  the  House,  many  of  which  are  radically  mis- 
leading, because  written  and  spoken  by  men  whose  experience 
in  South  Africa  may  run  into  one  or  two  months,  and  perhaps 
not  even  that.  For  instance,  take  Mr.  Churchill,  the  corre- 
spondent of  the  Morning  Post.  He  has  hardly  been  here  suf- 
ficient time  to  know  where  he  is,  knows  nothing  of  the  country, 
the  people,  or  customs,  has  no  interest  in  or  care  for  the  country, 
and  will  soon  be  gone  ;  yet  he  desires  to  counsel  us,  who  have 
been  years  in  the  colony,  and  know  everything  concerning  it, 
and  have  our  all  invested  here  ;  and  yet  thousands  at  home  will 
think  him  correct. 

It  is  a  grand  thing  to  talk  of  loyalty  at  home,  where  it  costs 
nothing  ;  but  be  here  at  the  present  time,  and  you  will  see  that 
loyalty  means  a  different  thing  altogether.  It  does  not  pay  to 
be  loyal.  The  disloyal  always  comes  off  the  best.  If  you  were 
here  you  would  not  ask  an  explanation.  It  was  so  before  I 
came  into  the  colony,  and  during  the  ten  years  that  I  have  been 
here  it  has  been  the  same.  Do  you  wonder,  then,  that  our 
feelings  are  strong  against  the  disloyal,  and  that  we  are  hurt  at 
our  own  country  compelling  us  to  suffer,  while  it  seems  afraid 
to  punish  the  rebellious  > — Daily  Chronicle,  May  31,  1900. 


I  NDEX 


Adendorff  trek,  109,  197 

Advocate,  25 

Africander  ambitions,  i  et  seq., 

93 
Africander  Bond,  35 

Extract  from  speeches  of 
Merriman  and  Harris,  Ap- 
pendix F,  282 

Motions  in  Cape  Parliament, 

153 
Objects  of,  88,  235,  237,  239 
Official  organ  of,  141 
Rhodes  and,  178,  181 
Africander,    meaning    of    term, 

I)  2 
Africanders  (two  parties),  162 
Alfred,    Prince,     tour     through 

S.  Africa,  27 
Alleged     officers     arrested    on 
charge  of  high  treason,  226 
Amatongaland,  180 

Attempted  seizure  of,  185 
Swazie  rights  over,  109 
Ameshoff : 

Resigns     puisne     judgeship, 

219 
Signs  reply  to  Kruger,  222 
Anderson,        Surveyor,        leads 

foraging-party,  50 
Anglo-German  Treaty,  164 
Anstruther,  Colonel,  at  Bronk- 

horstspruit,  46 
Appelbee,  Rev.  — ,  on  Malaboch 

War,  170 
Argyll,  Duke  of,  on  Transvaal 
policy,  34 


Ashmead-Bartlett,  Sir  E.,  atti- 
tude towards  Swazies,  108 
Author  : 

Acquaintance  with  Transvaal, 

15 
Connection    with     Transvaal 

Argus y  63 
Aylward  : 

Advises  investing  Lydenburg 

fort,  58 
Heads   deputation    to  Sir  L. 

Phillips,  ']^ 

B 

Banjailand  trek,  109,  197 

Baricly,  Sir  Henry,  President 
Burgers'  despatch  to,  131 

Barnato,  Barney,  and  Vaal 
River  Water  Concession, 
103 

Basuto  War,  8 

Bechuanaland  : 
Annexation  question,  85  note 
Attempt     to     establish      Re- 
publics in,  230 

Bellairs,  Lieut.-General,  at  Pre- 
toria, 52 

Benjamin,  D.  H.,  compensation 
to  diggers,  18 

Bewaarplaatsen,  106 

Bezuidenhout,  resists  execution 
of  warrant,  46 

Bismarck  and  Smit,  anecdote  of, 
86 

Bloemfontein  Conference,  238 

Bloonfoniein  Express,  policy  of, 
141 

20 


3o6 


INDEX 


Bloemfontein,  rifles  and  ammu- 
nition at,  70 
Boer : 

Army,  strength  of,  242 
Attitude  towards  annexation, 

II 
Attitude  towards  natives,  29, 

38 
Characteristics,  3,  4,  6,  12,  64 
Idea  of  founding  new  nation, 

5,6 
Meaning   of    'independence,' 

93 
Pohcy,  27 

Secret  meetings,  25 
Seize  ammunition  at  Middel- 
burg,  42 
Boerenvriend,  25 
Bok,  E.,  46 
Boomplaats,  Boers  defeated  at, 

8 
Borckenhagen,  Carl,  141 
Botha,  Hans  : 

Proposes   censure   on    Sir   J. 

de  Wet,  153 
Street  Inspector,  house,  105 
Taken  prisoner,  51 
Bourke,     E.      F.,     deputy     to 

Kruger,  148 
Bower,  Sir  Graham,  159,  209 
Brand,   Judge,   reason    for    re- 
signing, 210 
Brand,  Sir  John,  President  of 

Orange  Free  State,  9,  67 
Brandis,    Captain    von,    house 

besieged,  no 
Bridge  Concession,  96 
British    Bechuanaland,  84   and 

note 
British  colonials,  claims  of,  250 
British  flag  buried  at  Pretoria, 

.  .56  . 

British  flag  hoisted  at  Pretoria, 

British  policy  in  South  Africa, 

7,  9,  13 

Failure  to  re-establish  repre- 
sentative   institutions,    21, 
28,  39 
British  subjects  : 

Arrested  on    charge  of  high 
treason,  226 


British  subjects  : 

Commandeered,       119,      122, 

125 
Exempted  from  military  ser- 
vice, 132 
Registration  of,  123 
{See  also  Uitlanders) 
Bronkhorstspruit,  British  troops 

massacred  at,  46 
'  Brown  7/.  State,'  218 
Burger,  Schalk  : 

Candidate     for     Presidency, 

215 
Conduct  on  Industrial  Com- 
mission, 216 
Votes  for  Kruger,  1 1 1 
Burgers,      President      Thomas 
Francois,  7^ 
Character,  20 

Despatch     on    commandeer- 
ing, 131 
Difficulties,  18 
Plans  for  reforms,  31 
Vindication  quoted,  30 
Visits  Mac-a-Mac,  15 
'  Burgers'  sovereigns,'  16 
Buxton,  reply  on  instructions  to 
Sir  W.  Cameron,  132 

C 

Caldecott,      on      Johannesburg 

Education  Council.  211 
Cameron,  General  Sir  William, 
128 
Despatch    to    British    Agent, 
131,  137,  156 
Cape  Colony,  Transvaal  agents 

in,  236 
Cape  Ministry  : 

Boer     armaments     and,    70, 

237,  250 
Drifts  question  and,  186 
Cape    Parliament,    motions    on 
visit  of  Sir  Henry  Loch  to 
Pretoria,  153 
Cape  Peninsula : 

Dutch   East   India  Company 

take  possession  of,  2 
Englishmen   take   possession 
of,  I 
Cape  Railway  and  Netherlands 
S.  African  Railway,  186 


INDEX 


307 


Capitalists  and  Uitlander  cause, 

161,  174,  187 
Carolus  shot  as  spy,  60 
Carr,    St.    John,    dcDuty    from 

Johannesburg,  158 
Carter,  T.  F.,  work  on  Trans- 
vaal War,  27 
Celliers,  Jan  : 
Arrested,  25 
Exposes  abuses,  104 
Teaching  in  Volksstem,  24 
Cetewayo,  29  ;  capture  of,  230 
Chamber   of   Mines,    policy  of, 

174 
Chamberlain,  J.  : 

Alleged    complicity   in   Raid, 

201,  207 
On  s-ttlement  of   S.   Africa, 

251 
On  Transvaal    policy    (Glad- 
stone's), 34 
Rhodes  and,  203 
Treatment  of  Sir  J.  de  Wet, 
197 
Chartered  Company  formed,  88 
Churchill,  Lord  Randolph,  visits 
Transvaal    and    Rhodesia, 
112 
Clark,    Captain    Marshall,    pri- 
soner of  war,  59 
Clark,  prisoner  for   refusing  to 

go  on  commando,  137 
Cloete  family,  72 
Colley,  Sir  George  Pomeroy  : 
Death  on  Majuba,  63 
Tour  of  Transvaal,  26 
Commandeered  men  : 
Arrested,  133,  137 
Meeting  for  defence  of,  135 
Reception    in   Johannesburg, 

168 
Turned  out  on  veld,  159 
Commandeering  : 

Cessation  obtained,  152 
Committee        for        defence 

against,  128,  137 
Despatch  of  Sir  W.  G.  Cam- 
eron on,  131 
High  Court  Judgment  on,  136 
Interview   of    Kruger,    Leyds 

and  Kotze  on,  156 
Meaning  of,  122 


Commandeering  : 

Meeting  at  Pretoria  on,  126 
Policy,  92 

Uitlanders' case  and,  157 
Committee  of  Public  Appeal  to 

British  Government,  128 
Compound  system,  92 
Concession-hunters    in    Trans- 
vaal, 94 
Concessions  for  gold-mining,  18 
Confederation    scheme    for    S. 

Africa,  81 
Conference  at  Fourteen  Streams, 

(1890),  107 
Convention  of  London  (1884)  : 
'  Foreign    Relations    Clause,' 

162 
Signed,  66 
Convention  of  Pretoria  (1881)  : 
Provides    for    registration    of 

British  subjects,  123 
Signed,  56,  65 
Terms  of,  251 
Convention  of  Sand  River,  12 
Courtney,     Leonard,    advocacy 

of  Boers,  33 
Critic  : 

Account  of  disturbance  at  fire 

in  Johannesburg,  166 
Service    to    British    interests, 

139 
Cronje,  General,  sketch  of,  59 
Crow,  Dr.  J.  N.,  takes  charge  of 

mounted  troops,  47 
Curlewis,     J.     W.,    deputy     to 

Kruger,  148 
Currie,  Sir  Donald  : 
Advocacy  of  Boers,  33 
Second  Volksraad  and,  116 
Curtoms    Convention    between 

Cape  and  Free  State,  70 
Customs  Union,  Kruger  refuses 

to  enter,  109,  180 
Cyanide  Monopoly,  138,  160 
Cyclists  in  Cape  and  Natal,  236 

D 
Damaraland,  179 
Delagoa  Bay,  Mac Mahon award, 

Delagoa  Bay  Railway  seized  by 
Portuguese,  163 

20 — 2 


3o8 


INDEX 


De  Oude  Emigrant,  24 
Deputations  to  England,  66,  80, 

81,86 
Derby,    Lord,    and    Convention 

of  London,  66,  68,  86 
Devastation  of  Natal,  Appendix 

L,  302 
Diamond-fields  taken  from  Free 

Staters,  9 
Dias,     Bartolommeo,     doubles 

Cape  of  Good  Hope,  i 
Dingaan's  Day  (December  16), 

Republican       Government 

proclaimed  on,  26,  46 
Dinizulu    gives    concession    to 

Boers,  230 
'  Doms  V.  State,'  217 
Donald,  Captain,  189 
Dormer,  F.  J.,  cables  news  of 

arrests,  130 
Drew,  Dewdney,  on   Malaboch 

War,  170 
Drifts  closed,  186 
Dusting,  E.,  Secretary  of  Uit- 

landers'    Association,    127, 

128 
Dutch     East    India    Company 

take  possession  of  Cape,  2 
Dutch  newspapers,  23,  25 
Dutch  settlers,  original,  2 

Disputes  with  French,  3,  4 
Duval,  Charles,  edits  News   of 

the  Cajfip,  54 
Duxbury,    counsel    for    British 

prisoners,  226 
Dynamite  Concession,  98,  229 
State  monopoly,  99 

E 

Egerton,  Conductor,  saves  regi- 
mental flag,  47 

Elandsfontein,  skirmish  at,  53 

Elliot,  Captain,  murdered,  60 
Trial  of  murderers,  64 

Eloff,  F.,  75  ;  holder  of  Vaal 
River  Water  Concession, 
103 

Eloff,  Jan,  Mining  Commis- 
sioner   for   Witwatersrand, 

97 
Emancipation  of  slaves,  5,  13 


Engelenburg,    Dr.,    writing    in 

Vol ks stem,  24 
Erasmus,    Abel,    treatment    of 

Kaffirs,  234 
Erasmus,     Johannes     Elardus, 

attitude  on  gold-fields,  90 
Esselen,  Ewald,  State  Attorney, 

Transvaal,  in,  124 
Action  against  commandeered 

men,  135,  136 
Judgment    in    McCorkindale 

and  Doms  cases,  217 
Visits  England,  66 
Esselen,  G.  E.,  devoted  to  pro- 
gressive cause,  79 


Failure   to   re-establish    repre- 
sentative    institutions,    21, 
28,  39 
Fairfield,  extract  from  letter  to 

Chamberlain,  203 
Falconer,  on  committee  for  ap- 
peal to  British  Government, 
128 
Falls,  Captain,  shot  dead,  59 
Farms   in    New   Scotland    dis- 
trict, 96 
Farrer,  George,  174 
Ferreira,  Commandant,  169 
Fitzherbert,  Captain  Humphrey, 
takes  possession  of  Cape,  i 
Fitzpatrick,  J.  P. : 
On     Dynamite     Concession, 

On  Sir  H.  Robinson  fail- 
ing to  press  for  reforms, 
199 

Flag  question,  187,  191,  192, 
206,  210 

Foraging  expedition  to  H. 
Schoeman's  farm,  50 

Foreign  immigrants  preferred 
to  British,  116 

Foreign  intrigue,  162 

Fourteen  Streams,  Conference 
at,  107 

Franchise,  laws  on,  117 

Eraser  protests  against  alliance 
with  Free  State,  236 

French  immigrants,  2,  3 


INDEX 


309 


Frere,  Sir  Bartle,  43 
Appeal    to    General    Joubert, 

29 
Confederation  scheme,  81 
Extracts  trom  biography,  286 
On    Nominee    Legislature  of 

Transvaal,  Appendix  K,  301 


Gama,  Vasco  da,  doubles  Cape 

of  Good  Hope,  i 
German  activity  in    Transvaal, 

209,  235 
German     Emperor's     Birthday 

Celebration      at      Pretoria, 

Appendix  D,  275 
German  policy  in  South  Africa, 

164 
Gildea,  Colonel,  at  Pretoria,  52, 

.   .57 
Gillingham,  Solomon,  105 
Gladstone,    W.    E.,    Transvaal 
policy,     10,     33,     62,      83, 
249 
Gold     Exploration      Company, 

basis  of,  18 
Gold,  illicit  purchase  of,  228 
Gold-mining  concessions,  18 
Gordon,  General,  and  Rhodes, 

179 
Government  organs,  130 
Gray,  Rev.  James  : 

Severs  connection  wiih  com- 
mittee, 130 
Speech    on    commandeering, 
126 
Great  Trek,  5 
Green  murdered,  59 
Greene,     Conyngham,     British 

Agent  at  Pretoria,  226 
Gregorowski,  Judge  : 

On  Law  No.  i  of  1897,  219 
Signs  reply  to  Kruger,  222 
Grey,  Sir  George  : 

Applies  for  permit  for  Prince 
Alfred     to     pass     through 
Transvaal,  27 
Arbitrates  between  Free  State 

and  Basutos,  8 
Offered    Presidency   of    Free 
State,  76 


H 

Harrington,  member  of  political 
organization  at   Barberion, 

97 
Harris,     Dr.    Rutherfoord,     on 

Africander  Bond,  283 
Hatherley     Distillery     Conces- 
sion, 95 
Hawksley,       evidence       before 

Select  Committee,  207 
Hay,   James,    speech    at    mass 

meeting,  166 
Heever,  Van  der,  245 
Heidelberg,  seat  of  Republican 

Government,  46 
Hess,  Henry,  oi  Critic^  139 
Hess,  on  committee  for  appeal 

to  British  Government.  128 
Herff,  Von,  German  Consul  at 

Pretoria,  [?i 
High  Court  Crisis,  217  et  seq.. 

Appendix  I,  295 
High    Court,    Pretoria,    trial  of 

Captain  Elliot's  murderers, 

64 
Hofmeyr,  J.  H.,  82 
Policy,  88,  89 
Rhodes'  agent,  180,  182 
Holiard,    W.    E.,    concessions, 

95 
Home  Rulers  and  Rhodes,  182 

Hugo,   T.,    deputy    to    Kruger, 

148 
Hulett,  Attorney,  heads  Swazie 

deputation  to  England,  108 
Hull,  Attorney,  148 

I 

Imperial  spirit  in  South  Africa, 
190 

Indenture  system.  13,  170,  Ap- 
pendix B 

Industrial  Commission  Report, 
216 

Ingle,  prisoner  for  refusing  to 
go  on  commando,  137 

J 
Jameson,  Dr.,  172,  176,  184 
Trial,  202 


3IO 


INDEX 


Jameson  Raid,  67,  191 

Transvaal  armament  and,  187, 
229,  232 

Jeppe,  F.,  establishes  De  Oude 
E7nigra?it,  24 

Johannes,  war  with,  19 

Johannesburg  : 

Disarmed,  193,  199 
Disturbance  at  fire  in,  166 
Meeting  of  Secret  Committee, 

135 
Scheme  for  electric  tramways 

at,  102 
Sir  H.  Loch's  proposed  visit 

to,  155 
Stands  scandal,  104 
Johannesburg  petition,  144,  158 

Text  of,  149 
Johannesburg  Waterworks  Com- 
pany, 103 
Jorissen,  Dr.  E.  J.  P.,  46,  82 
Attitude  on  commandeering, 

132,  136 
■Counsel  for  Boers,  42 
Deputy  to  England,  80 
Signs  reply  to  Kruger,  222 
Sketch  of,  22 
Jorissen,  Judge  Samuel,  217 
Joubert,  Christian,   Minister  of 

Mines,  104 
Joubert,  Commandant-General, 
P.  J.: 
Attitude     on     acquisition    of 

Matabeleland,  107 
Attitude  towards  annexation, 

81 
Attitude  towards  trans- African 

scheme,  108 
Candidate  for  Presidency,  1 11, 

215 
Deputy  to  England,  80 
Letter  to  Lobengula,  112 
Opinion  of  Rhodes,  88 
Plan    to   trek  to  Banjailand, 

109 
Reply    to    Sir    Bartle    Frere, 

29 
Signs  Convention  (1881),  56 
Triumvir,  46 
Joubert,  Franz, commands  Boers 

at  Bronkhorstspruit,  47 
Judges'  reply  to  Kruger,  221 


Judicial  crisis,  217  et  seq.,  Ap- 
pendix I,  295 

K 

Kaffirs : 

At  burial  of  British  flag,  57 
Of  N.  Zoutpansburg  unwilling 
to  be  subject  to  Boers,  29, 
122 
Treatment  by  Boers,  233 
'  Keate  award,'  78 
Keith,  John, proprietor  of  Traits- 

vaal  Advertiser,  97 
Keizer,  Julius,  107 
Kimberley,  Lord,  explanation  of 

Transvaal  policy,  34 
Koch,  General,  145 
Kosi  Bay,  109,  180,  182 
Kotze,  Chief  Justice  J.  G.,  82 
'  Appeal     to     inhabitants    of 
South    African     Republic.' 
224 
Dismissed  by  Kruger's  order, 

96,  220,  223 
Judgment  in  '  State  v.  Hess,' 

218 
Judgment    on     commandeer- 
ing, 136,  156 
Recognised      resolutions     of 

Volksraad  as  law,  217 
Reply  to  Kruger's  assertions. 

Appendix  H,  291 
Signs  reply  to  Kruger,  222 
Kruger,  Jacob,  72 
Kruger,  Kaspar,  105 
Kruger,     Stephanus     Johannes 
Paulus  (President),  ■]■],  85, 
III 
Attempt  to  blackmail  Osborn, 

22,  39 
Commandant-General,  78 
Conduct    towards     President 

Burgers,  30,  32,  80 
Connection  with  movement  to 

oust  British,  11 
Connection  with  Portuguese, 

Deputy  to    England,  66,   80, 

86 
Dismisses  Kotze,  223 
Early  life,  74 


INDEX 


3" 


Kruger,     Stephanas     Johannes 
Paulus  (Pre.-ident)  : 
Influence  over  Boers,  23,  82, 

213 
Interference    with    course   of 

justice,    210,    Appendix    I, 

295 
Interview  \Aith  Kotzii  on  com- 
mandeering, 157 

On  Volksraad  resolutions, 
218,  Appendix  H,  301 
Meets   Sir   Henry   Loch   and 

Cecil  Rhodes,  107 
Member  of  Executive,  21,  24 
Opinion  of  Rhodes,  88 
Personal  ambition,  115 
Policy  in  Frt-e  State,  236 
Policy    on    railway    matters, 

163,  186 
Policy     towards     Uitlanders, 

5,6,  35,91,  117,  123 
'Presents'    to     ot^cials    and 

members  of  Volksraad,  225 
Promises  burgher  rights,  169 
Receives    Sir    Henry     Loch, 

145 
Refuses     to    enter    Customs 

Union,  109,  180 
Scheme       to       commandeer 

British  subjects,  119,  122 
Secures   Dr.   Leyds'  services. 

Signs  Convention  (1881),  56 
Speech  at  opening  of  Xether- 

hinds  Railway,  162 
Stories  of,  73 
Triumvir,  46 

Visit  to  Johannesburg,  no 
Wish  to  obtain  seaport,   109, 
180 
Kruger,  Tjaart,  137 
Krugerism,  end  of,  247,  255 
Krugersdorp    and     Klerksdorp 
railway,  plans  for,  105 


'  Labour  versus  Capital '  in 
South  Africa,  174,  187 

Lambert,  Captain,  61 

Land  ot  VolK\  Joubert  party's 
organ,  124 


Land      Goshen,      attempt       to 

establish  Repubhc,  230 
Lanyon,  Sir  Owen,  Administra- 
tor of  Transvaal  : 
Arrests  editor  and  proprietor 

of  Volkssteiiiy  25 
Military  style  of  government, 

21,  40 
Personal  dislike  to,  41 
Policy  in  Transvaal,  248 
Le  Mesurier,  Major,  at  Pretoiia, 

49 
Leonard,  J.  W.  : 

Approaches  loyalists  in   Pre- 
toria, 1 87 
Counsel  lor  Malahoch,  170 
Delends  commandeered  men, 

136 
Deputy    from    Johannesburg, 

158 
Opinion    on  commandeermg, 

128 
Speech  at  mass  meeting,  166 
Lewis  and  Marks  open  business 

in  Transvaal,  94 
Leyds,  Dr.,  35 

Advises   Law  No.   i   of  1S97, 

219 
Faith  in  foreign   intervention, 

92 
Interview    with    Kruger    and 

Kotzif    on  commandeering, 

156 
Meets  Sir  Henry  Loch,  141 
Obtains  support  against  Oreat 

Britain,  162 
On    reception    of   .Sir    Henry 

Loch,  148 
Opinion  of  Rhodes,  88 
Services   secured  by   Kruger, 

87 
Subsidizing  European    press, 

165,  190 

Linden,  Van  der,  shot  as  spy,  60 

Lippert  and  Dynamite  Conces- 
sion, 98 

Lippert  and  National  Bank  and 
Mint,  1 15 

Lobengula.  107,  1 12 

Loch,  .Sir  Henry  : 

Addresses  Raads,  160 
At  Fourteen  Sireains,  107 


312 


INDEX 


Loch,  Sir  Henry  : 

Obtains    cessation    of    com- 
mandeering, 152,  155 

Reception  of  deputation  from 
Johannesburg,  158 

Reply  to  address  at  Pretoria, 
146,  150 

Returns  to  S.  Africa,  131 

Visit    to   Johannesburg    pro- 
posed, 155 

Visits   to   Pretoria,    109,   138, 
1 4 1  ^/  seq. 
London  Convention,  66 

'  Foreign     relations     clause,' 
162 
Long,  Mrs.,  courageous  conduct 
during  siege  of  Lydenburg, 

58 

Loveday,  R.  K.,  and  Railway 
Concession  abuses,  loi,  104 

Loyalists,    121,    135,    139,    146, 
155,  162,  i75 
Claims  of,  249 

{See  also  Commandeered  men. 
Reformers,  and  Uitlanders) 

Lunnon  defends  British  pri- 
soners, 226 

Lydenburg  district,  gold  dis- 
covered in,  15 

Lydenburg  siege,  58 

M 

Mac-a-Mac  gold-fields,  15 
McCorkindale    farms    in    New 

Scotland  district,  96 
'  McCorkindal  v.  State,'  217 
Macdonald  : 
Appointed      Gold      Commis- 
sioner, 16 
Discovers  alluvial  gold,  15 
Member  of  Volksraad,  17 
Mackenzie,   Rev,  John,  as   Im- 
perialist, 83  and  note^  179 
MacLachlan,  Thomas,  discovers 

alluvial  gold,  15 
McLeod  discovers  alluvial  gold, 

15 

McMurdo,  Colonel,  holder  of 
Portuguese  Railway  Con- 
cession, 87 

M'Pefu,  Chief,  233 


Mafeking,  Boer  plan  to  occupy, 

245 
Magato,   Kaffir  Chief,    protects 

English,  122 
Magoeba,  Chief,  beheaded,  233 
Majuba,  55,  62 
Malaboch,  Kaffir  Chief  : 
Refuses  to  pay  taxes,  122 
Sketch  of,  170 
Malaboch  War,  166,  170,  233 
Manson,    A.    H.,    edited    local 

paper,  97 
Marabastadt,  122 
Marais,      Eugene,      editor      of 

Transvaal  Observer,  103 
Marais,  Melt,  Veldcornet,  136 
Marais,  mission  to  Cape  Colony, 

244 
Mare,  P.  G.,  Landdrost  of  Boks- 

burg,  214 
Mari,  Paul,  exposes  abuses,  104 
Marks,  Sam,  deputy  to  Kruger, 

148 
Marschall,  Baron  van,  despatch 

to    Lord     Kimberley,    209, 

Appendix  D,  275 
Matabele  War  (1893),  112 
Matabeleland,  107,  179 
Matallha,  Vicomte  de,  185 
Maynard,    prisoner    for    refus- 
ing   10   go   on    commando, 

137 
Meintjes,    Alphon^e,     thrashed 

British  subject,  133 
Merriman,  J.  X.  : 

On     Uitlanders     and      Boer 

Government,  154 
Speech  on  Africander  Bond, 
282 
Meyer,    Lucas,    incursion    into 

Zululand,  230 
Middelburg,  Boers  seize  ammu- 
nition at,  42 
Military  administrators,  43 
Milner,  Sir  Alfred,  43,  251 
Boer  opinion  of,  208 
Conference  with  Kruger,  238 
Morice,  George  T.  : 
Altitude     towards     comman- 
deering, 136 
Signs  reply  to  Kruger,  222 
Moshesh,  war  against,  8 


INDEX 


313 


Mulder's  Drift,  Malcolm  mur- 
dered at,  60 

Munro,  John,  funeral  oration  on 
British  flag,  57 

N 
Natal,  Devastation  of,  Appen- 
dix L,  302 
Natal  Railway,  103,  106 
National  Bank  and  Mint  floated. 

National  Union  : 

Appeal    to    British    Govern- 
ment, 140 
Cable  to  Lord  Rosebery,  133 
Invite  Sir  H.  Loch  to  Johan- 
nesburg, 155 
Meeting,  166 
Objects  of,  1 1 1,  igo 
Native  Commissionerships,  233 
Native  tribes  and  Boers,  29,  38, 

122, 233 
Nel,  Paul,  107 
Nelmapius,  Alois  Hugo 
Concessions,  94 
Entertains  Flora  Shaw,  208 
Released  from  prison,  210 
Netherlands  S.  African  Railway 
Company,  loi,  186 
And    Delagoa    Bay   Railway, 
163 
'New  Caledonia,'  16 

Made  an  electoral  district,  17 
Nixon,  John,  History  of  Trans- 
vaal War,  26 
'  Nobels'  Trust '  intriguing  with 

Lippert,  99 
Northern  Namaqualand,  179 
Nourse,     Captain,    at    Elands- 
fontein,  53 

O 
Orange  Free  State  : 

Alliance   with    Transvaal,    9, 

67,  69,  235,  239 
Arms,  23s 
Presidency     oflfered     to     Sir 

George  Grey,  76 
Republic  established,  8 
Sketch  of  history,  7 
War  with  Basutos,  8 


Orange    Free     State     Railway 

built,  93 
Osborn.  Colonial  Secretary,  and 

P.  Kruger,  22,  39 
'Our  Boys,'  51,  53 


Paardekraal,  mass  meeting   at, 

45 
Petersburg  Railway  Concession, 

106 
Phillips,  Lionel : 
Attitude    towards    Uitlander 

cause,  161,  174 
Extracts  from  letters,  Appen- 
dix C,  272 
Phillips,  Sir  Lushington,  offered 
Presidency  of  Transvaal,  76 
Pilgrims'  Rest,  gold  discovered 

at,  17 
Potchefstroom  : 

First  shot  fired  at,  46 
Reoccupied    by    Sir    Evelyn 
Wood,  60 
Potchcfstroojuer,  24 
Powder     Factory     Concession, 

229 
Presidential  Election  (1863),  77 
(1883),  85 

(1893),  III 
Pretoria : 

Briiish  flag  buried  at,  56 
British  flag  hoisted  at,  })y 
Inactivity  of  garrison,  52 
Meeting  in  Caledonian  Hall, 

.135 
Siege,  49  et  seq. 
Sir  Henry  Loch's  arrival  at, 

145 
Street  contracts  scandal,  105 
Two  parties  in,  76 
Pretoria     Convention,    56,    65, 

123,  251 
Pretoria  petition,  139,  143 

Text  of,  149 
Pretorius,   Henning,    Chairman 
of  Six  Syndicate,  1 12 
In  Cape  Colony,  2 "56 
Pretorius,  M.  W.,  Triumvir,  46 
Accepts    Presidency  of  Free 
State,  75 


3M 


INDEX 


Pretorius,  M.  W. : 
As  mediator,  76,  78 
Character,  62,  79 
Signs  Convention  (1881),  56 
Press,  130 

Owned   by   J.    B.    Robinson, 
106 
Progressive  party,  in,  125,  208 
Public  appeal  to  British  Govern- 
ment, committee,  128 
Public     Meetings    Act,    'Gag' 

Law  passed,  168 
Public  meetings  under  Govern- 
ment control,  6 


Q 

Queen's  Commission  to  Sir 
Theophilus  Shepstone,  28, 
Appendix  A,  256 

R 

Raaf,  Captain,  59 

Rand     Gold  -  field,    system    of 

purchasing,  228 
Red  House  Kraal,  skirmish  at. 

Reform  Movement,  143,  191 
Reformers  sentenced  to  death, 

196 
Reitz,  President  : 

Offers  to  retire  in  favour  of 

Sir  George  Grey,  76,  92 
Promotes  alliance  with  Trans- 
vaal, 9,  67 
Republicanism,  92 
State    Secretary  at    Pretoria, 

235 
Reno     refuses      to     be      com- 
mandeered, 125,  137 
Rensburg,  Van,   Candidate  for 

Presidency,  yj 
Republican    Government    pro- 
claimed, 46 
Reuter's  news  agency,  121 
Rhodes,  Cecil  : 
And      Africander      predomi- 
nance, 35,  88,  109,  182 
At  Fourteen  Streams,  107 
Attitude  towards  Uitlanders, 
154.  165,  173 


Rhodes,  Cecil  : 

Evidence  before  Select  Com- 
mittee, 209 
Influence  in  S.  Africa,  69 
Informs  Joubert  of  acquisition 

of  Matabeleland,  107 
Interview  with  Kruger,  172 
Introduces  Compound  System 

at  Kimberley,  92 
Jameson  Raid  and,  188 
On    Sir    H.    Loch's   visit    to 

Pretoria,  1 53 
Resigns  office  of  Premier,  194 
S.  African  policy,  202  et  seq. 
Sketch  of,  177  et  seq. 
Trans-African  Scheme,  108 
Visit   to    Johannesburg,    173, 
184 
Rhodesia,  foundation  of,  179 
Riebeck,  J.  A.  van,  takes  pos- 
session of  Cape,  2 
Rifle=,  231,  241 
Robbin?,  Miss,  notice  to  vacate, 

21 1 
Roberts,  E.  R.  : 

On  committee  for  appeal  to 

British  Government,  128 
Presents  address  to  Sir  Henry 
Loch,  150 
Robinson      on      Johannesburg 

Education  Council,  211 
Robinson,   Sir    Hercules    (Lord 
Rosmead)  : 
Attitude  after  Raid,  194,  196, 

199 
Signs  Convention  (1881),  56, 

Unfavourable  to  intervention, 
116 

Roburite  Company  and  Dyna- 
mite Monopoly,  99 

Rogaly  arrested  and  imprisoned, 
no 

Rooyen,  A'an,  refuses  to  be 
commandeered,  133 

Rosebery,  Lord,  129 

Rudd,  Rhodes'  partner  at 
Kimberley,  177 


Sanctuary,  Captain,  at  Elands- 
fontein,  53 


INDEX 


315 


Sarigny,  Count  de,  charged  with 
purchasing  gold  amalgam, 
228 

Sauer  on  Sir  H.  Loch's  pro- 
posed visit  to  Johannesburg, 

154 
Schnadhorst,      reputation      for 

party  organization,  89 
Schoeman,    Hendrik,  a    typical 
Boer,  50 
Dam  and  house,  107 
Reply  to  Reno  on  comman- 
deering, 126 
Schoeman,   Stephanu?,   rival  of 

Kruger's,  76 
Schoemansdal,  Kruger  defeated 

at,  29,  122 
Schreiner,  Theophilus,  250 
And  ammunition  for  Bloem- 

tontein,  70 
And  Drifts  Question,  186 
Evidence  before  Select  Com- 
mittee, 201,  210 
Letter  to  Cape  Times,  89 
On  Kruger's  ambitions,  211 
On  object  of  Africander  Bond 

in  Free  State,  235 
'  Restraining  influence,'  245 
Searle,   Advocate,    opinion    on 

commandeering,  128 
Secocoeni,    war    with,    19,    29, 

81 
Second  Volksraad,  116 
Secret  boycotts,  127 
Secret     Committee,    Johannes- 
burg, meeting,  135 
Secret  meetings,  25 
Selati  Railway  scandal,  100 
Settlement  of  S.  Africa,  views 

on, 251 
Shaw,    Flora,   evidence    before 

Select  Committee,  208 
Sheba  Mine,  flotation  of,  94 
Shepstone,  Sir  Theophilus: 
Address  to  farmers,  yj 
Annexes  Transvaal,  1 1 
Policy  in  Transvaal,  248 
Promises  popular  representa- 
tion, 21,  28 
Tranquillizes  Natal,  39 
Shillinge,  Captain  Andrew,  takes 
possession  of  Cape,  i 


Sivewright,  Sir  James,  and 
Africander    predominance, 

35 

Six  Syndicate,  1 12 

Skeene,  Dr.,  chief  medical 
officer  at  Pretoria,  49 

Slavery.  5,  13,  170 

Proofs  of.  Appendix  B,  267 

Smit,  General  N.  J.  : 

Deputy  to  England,  66,  86 
In  Berlin,  story  of,  86 
In  Cape  Colony,  236 
Tender  for  Krugersdorp  and 
Klerksdorp  railway  and,  105 

Smit,  J.   S.,   Railway  Commis- 
sioner, 100,  171 
House,  105 

Smith,  A.  E.,  on  committee  for 
appeal  to  British  Govern- 
ment, 128 

Smith,  Mrs.,  courageous  con- 
duct, 48 

Smith,  Sir  Harry,  defeats  Boers 
at  Booniplaats,  7 

Smuts,  State  Attorney,  243  ; 
offers  to  withdraw  prosecu- 
tion, 226,  227 

South  African  Association 
formed,  197 

South  African  League,  175 

South  African  politics,  four 
factors  in,  162 

South  African  Republic  {see 
Transvaal) 

Staats  .Artillerie,  241 

Opinion  of  captain  on  causes 
of  war,  238 

Slaftdafd  and  Dii^gcrs'  News, 
130 

Stands  scandal,  104 

Shir,  130  ;  Progressive  republi- 
can lines,  139 

'State  V.  Hess,'  Kotzd's  judg- 
ment, 218 

Statham.  F.  R.,  103 

Steenkamp  family,  73 

Steer,  prisoner  for  refusing  to 
go  on  commando,  137 

Stell,  Governor  van  der,  3 

Stellaland,  attempt  to  establish 
Republic,  230 

Steyn  family,  71 


3i6 


INDEX 


Steyn,    President,    235  ;    makes 

alliance  with  Transvaal,  9 
Street     contracts     in     Pretoria 

scandal,  105 
Swartkopjes,  fight  at,  50 
Swazie : 

Deputation  to  England,  108 
Dislike    to    Boer    rule,     108, 

180 
Rights    over    Amatongaland, 
109,  T85 
Swazieland  : 

Convention,  109,  142 

Policy,  107,  197 

Rhodes'  policy  towards,  180 


Tancred    defends    British 

prisoners,  226 
Toit,     G.     Du,     Landdrost     of 

Middelburg,  214 
Toit,  Rev.  S.  J.   du,  deputy  to 
England,  66,  86 
One  of  founders  of  Africander 
Bond,  66,  88 
Transvaal  : 

Annexation,    10,    21    et    seq., 
Appendix  A,  256 

Boer  protest  against,  30, 
163 
Autonomy  recognised,  12 
Judicial    crisis,    217    ei    seq., 

Appendix  I,  295 
Position      during      President 

Burgers'  time,  18 
Secret  Service  Fund,  35 
Treasury  bankrupt,  28 
{See  also  under  Kruger) 
Transvaal  Advertiser,  65 
Demise  of,  79  note 
Editor  threatened    with    pro- 
secution, 230 
Extract  from  (December  31, 

1898),  300 
Kotzd's  opinion  of  article  of 
March    15,    1897,   224,   Ap- 
pendix I,  295 
On  sufferings  caused  by  com- 
mandeering, 134 
Opposes  Government  organs, 
139 


Trajisvaal  Advertiser  : 
Protest   against  treatment  of 

Swazies,  180 
Remonstrances    against    bri- 
bery, 97 
Transvaal  Argus.  25,  63 
Transvaal  flag  at  Johannesburg 

torn  down,  1 10 
Transvaal  gold-fields  : 

Concessions  for  mining,  18 
Discovered.  5,  90,  94  et  seq. 
Transvaal  Government: 

Agents  in  Cape  Colony,  236 
Alliance   with    Orange    Free 

State,  9,  67,  235,  236,  239 
Election      Committees      pro- 
hibited, 215 
Encourage      foreign      immi- 
grants, 116 
Levies    money   from    British 

subjects,  166 
Preparations  for  war,  70,  184, 
187,  202,  229,  231,  241,  243 
Proposal  of  five  years'  fran- 
chise, 243 
Secret  agents,  plot  of,  226 
Secret  boycotts,  127,  171 
War  expenditure,  232 
Transvaal  Mining  A  rgus,  1 30 
Transvaal  Observer,  102 
Tudhope,  J.  : 

Chairman  at  mass  meeting  of 

National  Union  166 
Speech  on  Uitlanders'  griev- 
ances, 158 

U 

Uitlanders  : 

Feeling  against,  194 
Grievances,  no,  211 
Invite     Rhodes'     assistance, 

173 

Petitions,  118,  139,  143,  144, 
149 

Position  of,  6 

Vote  for  Second   Volksraad, 
116 
Uitlanders'     Association,     Pre- 
toria, 190 

Letter  and  cable  on  griev- 
ances, 211,  Appendix  E, 
279 


INDEX 


317 


Umbandine,      King      of      the 
Swazies,      concessions      to 
Boers,  1 08 
Underwood,  Rev.  W.  J. : 
Appeal     for     commandeered 

men,  135 
Proposal  to  '  tar  and  feather,' 

144 
Warrant  for  arrest,  130 
Work    for    British    interests, 
126,  128 
Union  Jack   at   Pretoria,  story 

of,  145 
Uys,  Piet  : 
Life  saved  by  Sir  L.  Phillips, 

76 
Loyalty,  29 

V 

Vaal  River  Drifts  closed,  186 
Veldcornets  and   commandeer- 
ing, 124 
Villiers,  Sir  Henry  de,  82 

Draws     up     Convention     of 

Pretoria,  251 
Mediates  between  Kruger  and 

judges,  220,  223 
Signs  Convention  (1881),  56 
Volksraad  : 

Confirms    Government   order 

for  commandeering,  125 
Law  No.  I  of  1897,  design  of, 

219 
Members  for 'New  Caledonia,' 

17 
Opposes  everything  English, 

'Presents'  to  members,  225 

Treatment    of    Burgers' 
measures  of  reform,  31 
Volkssteni,  130 

Politics  of,  24 
Volunteers  at  Pretoria,  48 
Vorster,  Barend  : 

And   Selati  Railway  scandal, 
100 

Native  Commissioner,  122 

W 

Waal,  De,  accompanies  Rhodes 
in  tour,  172 


Waite,  Dr.,  shot  as  spy.  60 
Walsh,     Father,    at     siege     of 

Lydenburg,  58 
Wait,  Van  der,  motion  on  visit 
of  Sir  H.  Loch  to  Pretoria, 
153. 
War  of  independence,  27,  45  et 
seq. 
Alleged  causes,  21 
Insurrection    breaks    out,   26, 

46 
Negotiations    for    peace,    55, 
62 
Warren,   Sir  Charles,  on    Rev. 
John  Mackenzie's  services, 
83  note 
Water.  Te,  172 
Weinthal,  Leo,  82 
Reuter  and,  121 
Wessels,  J.  W.  : 

Counsel  for  Malaboch,  170 
Defends  commandeered  men, 

136 
Opinion  on  commandeering, 

128 
Opinion   on    Dynamite    Con- 
cession, 99 
Protests  against  alliance  with 

Free  State,  236 
Speech     at     mass     meeting, 
166 
Wesihuizen,  Van  der,  commits 

suicide,  134 
Wet,     Sir     Jacobus     de,     129, 
185 
Dynamite  Concession  and,  99, 

198 
Loyalists'  faith  in,  137,  200 
Receives  deputation   of  Uit- 

landers,  128 
Reception    of  returned   com- 
mandeered men,  168 
Sketch  of  career,  197 
White,     Kimber,     reception     in 

Downing  Street,  34 
White,    Montagu,    delegate    to 

Great  Britain,  1 14,  204 
Williams,  Ralph,  British  Agent 

at  Pretoria,  1 10,  197 
Winsloe,  Colonel,  surrenders  to 

Cronje,  59 
VVitwatersrand  boom,  loi 


3i8 


INDEX 


Wolmarans,  A.  D.  W.,  243 
Chairman  of  First  Volksraad, 

160 
Dynamite    Concession     and, 

98 
Question  on  reception  of  Sir 
Henry  Loch,  148 
Wolseley,  Sir  Garnet  : 
As  administrator,  40 
Denounces     Abel     Erasmus, 

234 
Wood,  Sir  Evelyn  : 

Attitude  towards  Convention 

of  Pretoria,  251 
Signs  Convention  (1881),  56 
Woodbush  Chiefs,  233 


Woofenden,  Rev. : 

On  committee  for  appeal  to 
British  Government,  128 

Warrant  for  arrest,  130 
Wyk,  Van,  245 


Zambaan's  land,  180,  185,  198 
Zoutpansburg,    northern    tribes 
unwilling  to  be  subject  to 
Boers,  29,  122 
Zulu  War,  29,  81 
Zululand  : 

Boer  incursion  into,  83,  230 
British  policy  in,  230 
Zwaartbooi,  Chief,  57 


THE  END 


BILLING  AND  SONS,   PRINTERS,   GUILDFORD 


AA    000  881  615    9 


